Bag Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘storm’ and now look at ‘bag’.

In the bag has been seen since 1922, it is used to describe something assured.

Left holding the bag, meaning ‘cheated, swindled’, is seen as early as 1793.

Let the cat out of the bag is seen from 1760, and likely comes from the French Acheter chat en poche or ‘buy a cat in a bag’.

Moneybags, to describe a rich person, is seen from 1818.

Grab-bag, used to describe a miscellaneous mixture, is first recorded in 1854.

Beanbag is first seen in 1871, but this was something used in children’s games and nobody had the larger version to sit on until 1969.

Airbags, the vehicle safety feature, is seen from 1970 and as a device for raising sunken vessels from 1836.

Bodybags have been around for the deceased since 1967, prior to that the same term described a kind of sleeping bag.

Mailbags have only ever been used to carry the mail, first described as such in 1794.

Bagpipes have been known as such since the 14th century, although a better description came in 1912 when a English Army officers referred to them as ‘agony bags’.

Nosebag, the way to feed a horse, is seen from 1796.

Nobody carried a handbag before 1854.

Brown Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘frog’ and now look at ‘brown’.

Brown sugar, not the Rolling Stones masterpiece, is first seen in 1704. Want a joke? Tough, you’re getting this (which is likely as old as the Stones track): White sugar cubes are rare, brown sugar cubes – Demerara. It is also a slang term for heroin.

Brown Bess, seen since 1785, is the slang name given to the flintlock musket used by the British Army.

Brown study, seen since 1530s, refers to mental abstraction or meditation – fundamentally saying you’re thinking about it but with no proof whatsoever.

Brown paper, the wrapping material, is first recorded as same in 1650.

Brown-nose is first seen in 1939, a reference to one trying to make an impression on one perceived as superior or in authority. Want to know why ‘brown’? Write and ask – but not me, think of someone who does such and ask them.

Brown Shirt, a reference to the Nazi Party militia as they wore same when founded in 1921, later a generic term for a fascist.

Brown out is the same as a black out (or power outage, if you prefer), but leaving a few lights on.

Brownie can be one of three things: a square of rich chocolate cake since 1897; a younger member of the guiding movement since 1916; a type of camera from 1900; or originally a benevolent goblin haunting houses in Scotland, and had been since 1510.

Brown bag, and I don’t just mean a brown bag, but a brown bag containing a lunch or hidden alcohol.

Brownfield, since 1992 has referred to abandoned or disused former industrial land.

Brownstone, a building material made from a darker form of sandstone which is first named as such in 1849.

As brown as a berry is seen since 1400, when it was used in one of the most famous publications in medieval history – Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. However unlike today, when it is used to describe someone with a good sun tan, Chaucer used it to refer to a horse “His palfrey was as broune as is a bery” (sic).

Browned off is first seen in 1948, and is widely associated with the British military and particularly the RAF. Origins of the term? Nobody has the foggiest idea. Incidentally, the similar phrases ‘brassed off’ and ‘cheesed off’ have equally unknown beginnings.

Cat Idioms

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

Cat’s paw from 1769 and cat’s foot from 1590, is a term derived from the folktale where a monkey (usually) convinces a cat to use its claw to remove chestnuts from a fire. Monkey gets chestnuts, cat gets a burned foot or paw.

Cat burglar is first coined in 1907.

Cat’s miaow or cat’s whiskers (and even cat’s pyjamas) is used to mean the same thing as ‘bee’s knees’, ie the very best, and seen from 1923. We can also find more obscure references, with the same meaning, such as canary’s tusks, cat’s nuts, dog’s bollocks, and flea’s eyebrows.

Cat witted is seen from the 1670s, and while now almost obsolete is worth mentioning for its meaning of ‘obstinate, spiteful’.

Nobody let the cat out of the bag before 1760, and seems to be a poor translation of the French Acheter chat en poche.

Fraidy cat may be more west side of the Atlantic than east, but worth noting it is first seen in 1816, and seems to have been coined by those descended from those brought to the Americas by slave traders. From 1906 the phrase ‘scaredy cat’ is also seen.

Kit-cat was a club founded by Whig politicians in London and named after Christopher ‘Kit’ Catling.

Schroedinger’s car is first coined in 1972, which is rather odd as the famous thought experiment by Erwin Schroedinger appeared in writing in 1935. Perhaps it took 37 years to open the box.

Cat bath, cat wash, or cat lick, all used to describe a wash (usually by a child) which is done merely to obey the parent and doesn’t really perform the ablutions as demanded.

Similarly cat-nap, where the sleeper isn’t really sleeping, is seen from 1823.

Cat-lap is seen from 1785, and today (albeit becoming obsolete) mostly used to refer to weak tea, although traditionally applied to any insipid beverage.

Wildcat has had no less five uses: from the 12th century as a surname; from the 14th century to refer to the undomesticated cat (usually said to be a Scottish Wild Cat); in the sense ‘savage woman’ from 1570; as ‘one who tends to act rashly (particularly with plans or projects) from 1812; and in the financial sense from 1838.

The catkin, the flower spike of trees such as the willow, is named for its soft, fluffy appearance and is seen from around 1570.

Air Idioms

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

Up in the air, to mean 'uncertain', is first recorded in 1752.

Castles in the air, a phrase referring to ideas which are impractical, dates back to 1590. The following century we also see the word 'airmonger', describing someone who dreams of such visionary and impractical projects.

On the air or being broadcasted, is seen for the first time in 1927. Airplay also made its debut in the same year.

Air pollution may have existed before 1870, but reference as that is seen prior to then.

Air guitar was not played by anyone before 1983, at least nobody called it that.

Air traffic controller is first seen in 1956, presumably air traffic was controlled in the three or four decades or flight before then, even if the job holder did not have that job title.

Hot air, describing someone boastful, is seen from 1900, although hot air balloons were described as such from 1813.

Open air, or outdoors, is recorded as such in 1520.

Air fresheners were not recorded as such until as recently as 1945.

Air lock, such as those used in submarines and spacecraft, is used as early as 1851 when, we assume, they still hadn't built a spaceship.

Air brake, it works on compressed air, is a term first seen in 1872.

Air mail, that is mail delivered by aircraft, is first seen in 1913 - that is just 10 years after the Wright brothers made their first flight in the aircraft named, rather unimaginatively, Wright Flyer.

Air bags, I would have thought, was a comparatively modern invention and would certainly have come after the car. And I would be correct, with the first air bags fitted as safety features in 1970. But this is nowhere near the first mention of an air bag, this came in 1836. In that time air bags were used to raise sunken vessels.

Airspace today is that part of the atmosphere above a country for which they claim responsibility. Not possible before aircraft you would think, but you would be wrong for that use dates from 1910. Prior to that 'airspace' referred to the volume of air inside a room, in particular when speaking of whether the room could comfortably house a certain number and was used for boarding rooms, hospitals, etc., and first seen in 1852. But there is an earlier reference from 1847, used to refer to the airspace between the powder charge and the projectile in firearms. And there is an even earlier reference, this dates from 1821. Airspace in those days referred to the air filling a stove or furnace.

Air brush, as a verb referring to touching up images, dates from 1902. Prior to that an air brush was a noun, an atomiser for spraying inks and paints.

Synonym Etymologies B

As with the last post, a look at a number of synonyms through the eyes of the etymologist. This time B for Bag, which is from the Old Norse baggi 'pack, bundle'. Some sources give the origin as Old French bague, which could explain its longevitry in having been introduced to English twice, but as this would also have come from the Old Norse, too, it is hardly relevant.

Sack is known as such because of the material it is made from. Usually known as 'sacking' in English, many European languages have borrowed the early Greek sakkos 'bag made of goat hair', itself related to Hebrew and Phoenician saq 'cloth of hair'.

Carrier is clearly from the verb 'to carry'. Coming to English from old French, it can be traced to Latin carricare and derived from Latin carrum, their name for the 'Celtic two-wheeled war chariot'. We can even trace this further back to that source of many languages, the root language which spread across India, Middle East, and Europe with the retreating of the ice sheets, the Proto-Indo-European root kers meaning 'to run' - this is also the origin of the word 'horse'.

Receptacle, from Old French in the 14th century, has the same origin as its parent word 'receive', which is traceable back through Latin to Proto-Indo-European kap 'grasp'.

Container, clearly from 'contain', is another which came to English from Old French and further back Latin. The Latin coninere was used in the sense of 'to hold together, enclose', and comes from Proto-Indo-European ten 'to stretch'. Not until the 14th century did the idea of 'hold together' become seen as also conveying the sense of 'containing'.

Bag again, this time as a verb, not the noun as above. In the sense of killing or capturing prey (or even criminals), its use is unrecorded until 1818. Clearly this refers to the game, a bird or rabbit, to be placed in the bag. Now, that the bag would swell is more the reason for the use of 'bag' here, rather than the bag itself. We know this as the word 'bag' had been used to refer to loose fitting clothing and, usually to animals, particularly livestock, to the swelling of a belly when pregnant and had been since the late 14th century.

Catch has exactly the same origins as 'receptacle' and 'receive', traceable to Proto-Indo-European kap 'to grasp'. The difference is largely how the word came through the later Latin and Old French routes.

Capture is also from Proto-Indo-European kap, and much easier to see.

Snare, as a verb, comes from the noun, This noose for trapping animals is from the Old Norse soenri or 'twisted rope'. Neither verb nor noun used in English until around 1300.

Kill, be it a noun or a verb, must surely be an old word, and indeed it does go back to Proto-Indo-European through the Germanic route to English. Working back in history, usage has meant not only 'kill, put to death', but also 'die', 'torment', 'tease', 'suffer pain', and ultimately Proto-Indo-European gwele 'to throw' and also used in the extended sense of 'to pierce'.

Shoot can be traced back through the German line and originaly used in the sense 'to push, shove, impel', which is effectively what the bow does to the arrow and the gun to the bullet.

Sag used to refer to body parts and/or clothes in the mid-16th century, it is from an Old Norse root sokkva 'to sink'.

Swell has been used to mean 'to grow bigger' for so long and virtually unchanged and in so many Germanic tongues it is impossible to know where the word originated.

Balloon, as a verb, comes from the noun, itself a derivative of 'ball' and the Latin palla. The idea of the balloon and the ball in these old tongues, come from the original Proto-Indo-European bhel which meant 'to swell, and thus the word has returned to its original use after several thousand years.

Bulge is not difficult to see as related to 'balloon' and it does also go back to the Proto-Indo-European bhel.