Bomb Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'dog' last time and this time it's 'bomb'.

Bomb has had, at least for most of its existence, the one use as referring to an explosive – all related to Greek bombos and Latin bombus meaning ‘a deep, hollow, or booming sound’ and thus named from the sound the explosive made. But since the middle of the 20th century, ‘bomb’ suddenly took on other uses: from 1953 it referred to an old car; from the following year it meant entirely the opposite of ‘success’; then in 1961 we find it swinging back to its earlier usage with ‘a failure’.

Bomb is also used from 1966 to mean ‘travel quickly’.

Bombed is used as a slang term for ‘drunk by 1956.

The atomic bomb is first recorded in 1945.

Bomb-proof is seen for the first time in writing in 1702, that source being the Century Disctionary and so it must already have been in use. We also find ‘bomb-proof’ used as contemptuous slang for those who were never exposed to the dangers of war (for whatever reason) in 1755, that war being the US Civil War.

Bombshell, referring to the casing of the explosive, is first seen in 1708; the term is first used to express shattering or shocking news in 1859; and as a reference to a very attractive (particularly blonde) female by 1942. This latter reference is almost certainly a result of the film released in 1937. Originally entitled Bombshell, it was renamed The Blond Bombshell before release. Starring Jean Harlow, it is said to have been based on screen star Clara Bow.

Nobody carpet-bombed anywhere until 1945.

The firebomb, referring to an explosive designed to create a conflagration, is first referred to in 1895 although the term had earlier been used to describe a firework and also a cannonball. It is seen as verb from 1941 to describe a military aviation manoeuvre, and from 1945 to describe acts of vandalism or terrorism.

Egg Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'job' last time and this time it's 'egg'.

Bad egg is a phrase used for the first time in the figurative sense in 1855.

Nobody was described as appearing foolish with the expression ‘to have egg on one’s face’ until 1948.

Eggs Benedict did not appear on a menu (or a recipe book) until 1898 – might have been the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Nobody was ever said to put all their eggs in one basket until 1875.

The first record of a person being ‘egged on’ or encouraged dates from as earlier as the beginning of the 13th century and came to English from Old Norse. Nobody was ‘egged on’ in the sense of being pelted with eggs until 1857, and a third sense of ‘covered or mixed with eggs’ is seen in culinary terms from 1808.

Eggnog is first recorded around 1775, ‘nog’ being an old term for ‘strong ale’.

Although the sandglass used to measure time has been known since at least the eighth century, they probably weren’t made from glass until the 14th century, and they were not referred to as ‘egg timers’ until 1873. Yes, I did wonder how they ended up with a soft-boiled egg before then. However……

…. they probably had soft-boiled eggs at that time, for egg cups were described by 1773.

Egg rolls, those pseudo-Chinese dishes invented by the Americans, is first described in 1917. I am told that modern egg rolls often contain no egg but cabbage instead.

Egg beaters must have been used before 1828, but not produced or known as such. From 1937 the same phrase was used as a slang term for the helicopter.

Nobody referred to an ‘egg white’ until 1881.

The eggplant, most often known as an aubergine in the United Kingdom, is first recorded in 1763.

Addle, a word meaning ‘to spoil, go rotten, putrid’, is first seen in the 1640s. However, this must have come from an earlier phrase of ‘addle egg’, as that is recorded as early as the middle of the 13th century.

Egg shells are not described as such until the early 15th century; although people were ‘walking on egg shells’ by 1734; used as a reference to something delicate and fragile by 1835; and the term was first used to describe a colour in 1894.

Ecuador Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Ecuador and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Quito is the capital but, with a population of 2.67 million, is not the largest city in Ecuador, that title goes to the following entry of Guayaquil. Quito is named for its founders two thousand years ago, the Quitu tribe. This tribe, the dominant force in the region known as the Kingdom of Quito, derived their name from two Tsafiki words: Quitso 'centre' and To 'the world'. Hence their tribal name probably suggested they were 'the centre of the world' - as we all see the world from our own perspective to this day.

Guayaquil is the most populous, although only just, with 2.69 million living here. Officially founded on July 25th 1538 by Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana as Muy Noble Y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil or the 'most noble and most loyal city of St James of Guayaquil'. That the existing name is present at the end of this 16th century 'official' name is further proof, adding to archaeological evidence, showing the settlement already existed prior to the arrival of the Spanish and named by the indigenous people. It takes the name of the Guayas river, the name given to the lowest part of the most important network of rivers draining the western slopes of the Andes mountains. Popularly the place name is derived from two people, the Puna Indian chief Guayas and his wife Quill, whom he is said to have killed before he committed suicide by drowning. However etymologists prefer hua meaning 'land' and Illa or 'beautiful prairie'. When added to the Quilca, this one of the many tributaries of the Guayas and also the name of the tribe who inhabited this region, it gives a meaning of 'the land of the beautiful prairie at the land of the Quilcas'.

Bahia is from the Spanish occupation and refers to 'the bay'.

Banos de Agua Santa is another of Spanish derivation. Here describing 'the baths of the holy water', it refers to the hot springs in this region said to have healing powers.

Cuenca took the name of the city in Spain, itself from the Latin for 'river basin'.

Guaranda is after a chief of the indigenous people named Guaranga.

Ibarra was founded in 1606 on the orders of the president of the Royal Audience Club of Quito, whose name was Miguel de Ibarra. The man who gave his name to this city represented an administrative unit of the Spanish Empire.

Latacunga is a Spanish corruption of the earlier name of Llacta cunani, itself traditionally held to be an inn here since the Incas were resident. If this is indeed even remotely accurate, then the name would be a welcoming one offering hospitality in the form of a meal and a bed which, as evidenced by the origins of so many pub names, makes perfect sense.

Loja is named after the home town of Field Marshal Alonso de Mercadillo who founded the Ecuador version in 1548, the name probably first used to refer to this place as a trading post or market. The town of Nueva Loja, a major point of oil extraction for the Texaco company, is named from the Ecuador city because many of the workers hailed from there.

Macas is simply from the indigenous Macas tribe.

Machala takes the name of Lord Dominic Machala.

Manta is an ancient site, named for its importance as a trading post for the Mantas tribe.

Milagro is said to be the result of events in 1784 when a plantation owner named Don Miguel de Salcedo sought the help of many doctors to cure his ailing wife. One day a beggar knocked at his door and, on hearing of the poor woman's illness, produced some leaves. These he was to use to produce a tea which his wife should drink and she would be cured. Desperate to try anything he did as the beggar asked and soon she was healed. Astonishingly Don Miguel believed it had been St Francis of Assisi who had been responsible for the miracle and immediately declared the farmland here should be known as San Francisco de Milagro, milagro meaning 'miracle'.

Portoviejo is simply 'the old port'.

Shell Mera was established in 1937 by the Shell Oil Company as a base for their workers, it is located just four miles from the smaller town of Mera.

Tulcan is a Spanish variation on the earlier Mayan name of Hu-Can meaning 'warrior'.

Santo Domingo de los Colorados is predictably of Spanish origin and, as with so many of the names from the early days of the Spanish Empire, refers to the day it was founded and thanks the church - here the name means 'Holy Sunday'. The addition, also Spanish, refers to the indigenous people, the Tsachila, and the men who dyed their hair with an extract from the achiote plant. This plant gives an orange-red dye from the waxy seed coverings. There is a story which suggests this ornamentation is comparatively recent and, if the story is true, was caused by the arrival of the Spanish. It is well-known how the Spanish brought disease from Europe, the indigenous people having no resistance to even the mildest and the population decimated as a result. With the Tsachila people the disease was the dreaded smallpox, against which they shaved the temporal region of the head, then creating a helmet-like feature with the remaining hair after the dye had taken. It seems a local shaman was drawn to the bush when asking the spirits to protect them from the disease and, having covered themselves with the red juice, discovered mortality rates plummeted within days. The helmet-style design is imitative of the seed pods from which the dye is obtained.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.