Bottom Idioms

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

Bottom has a couple of meanings in English today, but historically different languages have given very different meanings. For example Old English referred to botm as ‘soil, deepest part’; Old Frisian ‘soil’, Old Norse ‘ground’, Old German ‘earth’, have similar meanings. Old Irish bondreferred to ‘the sole of the shoe’; but ‘bottom’ is the meaning for Sanskrit budhanah, Avestan buna, Greek pythmen, and Latin fundus all mean ‘bottom’.

Nobody got to the bottom of the matter until 1570.

Bottom as in ‘a person’s posterior’ is not seen in English until 1794.

Bottoms up began in 1875.

Bottom dollar dates from 1857, and seen in the UK just after the First World War.

It was felt from the bottom of the heart for the first time in 1540.

Fish were described as bottom-feeders, where applicable, from 1866.

To reach the bottom of (as in to fathom, which was the earlier expression) dates from 1808.

River bottoms were unrecorded until 1752.

Rock bottom dates from 1884.

Nobody referred to this being ‘the bottom line’ until 1832.

Nothing was bottomless (such as a pit) until the early 14th century. By design nothing can actually be bottomless, but ‘very deep’ doesn’t quite cut it.

Bell-bottom trousers were first described in 1882, and enjoyed a resurgence in the 1960s thanks to the fashion choices of the era.

Black bottom was a jazz dance seen at least by 1907, and became a national craze in the USA when it appeared in a Broadway musical.

Scraping the bottom of the barrel is difficult to date as the origin really did mean getting right to the bottom as barrels were used for storing many foodstuffs. However, we do know the metaphorical use dates from the 1930s.

In baseball the phrase ‘bottom of the inning’ refers to the latter stages of the inning, and the earliest known record of that is as early as August 1730.

Smooth (or soft) as a baby’s bottom appears in the middle of the 20th century.

Bottom drawer, in use by 1866, was where young ladies would gather household items for future use as a married woman.

Bottom the house, ie to give it a thorough clean, is first seen in the early 19th century.

Trackie bottoms is a phrase which has become a part of the English language in recent years, but is unknown before about 1999.

Chinese Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘spring’ and now look at ‘Chinese’ – albeit many of these will have little association with the Orient.

Chinese lantern is first seen in 1825.

Chinese chequers is not recorded before 1938.

Chinese homer – also known as a Harlem home run, Polo home run, or a Pekinese poke – is a derogatory term used in baseball to describe a ball clearing the nearest point to the base for a home run, first seen in the Los Angeles Times when reporting on a minor league game in August 1919.

Chinese whispers is first found in 1939 when appearing in the Derbyshire Times.

Chinese fire-drill is US military slang first heard in 1962, and describes people running about in a disorderly or chaotic fashion and achieving nothing.

Chinese burn first appears in print in 1936 in the Thames Star, a New Zealand newspaper.

China, as in the porcelain, is first seen in 1650, although this is a shortened form of the earlier China-ware (1630) and China-dishes (1570), and none of these were sold in a China-shop before 1750.

China doll – ie a doll made from china – is first seen in 1756, although it did not become common until the middle of the 19th century.

China plate is unrecorded before 1880.

China syndrome is first recorded in 1970, it refers to the theoretical idea that a nuclear disaster or meltdown would result in it sinking through the Earth and create a hole leading to China and has since been used as a synonym for ‘meltdown’.

China white, a euphemism for very pure form of heroin, is first seen in 1791.

Chinaman’s chance, now considered offensive, first came to prominence in the early 19th century; today we are more likely to say ‘ghost of a chance’.

Chinaman is a cricketing term referring to a ball delivered by a left-arm bowler which spins the wrong way from the natural delivery, ie in to the right-handed batsman. The term comes from what would today be regarded as a highly offensive comment made during a match in 1933 between England and the West Indies. England’s Walter Robins was stumped by the wicketkeeper having been beaten by the ball delivered by Ellis ‘Puss’ Achong who had Chinese ancestry. As he passed the umpire on his way to the dressing room, he said to the umpire “Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman.” On reflection it is probably a good job Robins didn’t refer to the bowler by his nickname, it may have led to all manner of complaints when naming the delivery.

Ball Idioms

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

Ball of the foot dates from the 14th century and, unless your feet at very flat, there is a certain rounded shape to that part.

Ball point pen is first seen in 1946, and it does describe the pen rather well.

Ball of fire is not quite what you might think, for when first recorded in 1821 it referred to a glass of brandy; latterly used to refer to one who is highly successful in striving for success from around 1900.

On the ball, as in to perform rather well, is seen from 1912.

To keep your eye on the ball, which seems to me a rather wordy way to describe concentration, is first seen in 1907 and thought to be derived from golf.

To have the ball, an expression meaning to hold an advantage, is not particularly popular today but must have been when first recorded around 1400.

The ball was never in your court before 1956, although this tennis reference could well be much earlier as the name was played for centuries.

Ballcocks, useful in plumbing disasters to shut off the water, is a term used since 1790.

Puff ball, an accurate description of how this fungus distributes spores, has been found in print as early as 1640.

Stoolball, a game you probably have never heard of before, was an outdoor game similar to cricket. Played by women from the late 15th century, the 'stool' was the wicket and it seems likely the wicket used an actual stool.

Ball boy has been used to describe the laddie who retrieves tennis balls since 1896. Ball girls had to wait until 1953 before getting a mention, although girls were used from 1920.

Ballbearings are used to reduce friction in mechanisms, the term first used in 1874.

Ballrooms are designed for dancing, if you like that sort of thing, the term first documented in 1724. However, while we associate ballroom dancing with ballrooms, ballroom dancing is not recorded until 1872.

Mothballs, despite the very old and very bad joke, were used to deter moths from laying their eggs on our clothes. The term is first recorded in 1891.

And we can't go without giving some earliest dates for ball sports where, like football, 'ball' is a part of the name: football is found in a document from around 1400, and again in 1424 (where the reference bans the game); volleyball in 1896; racquetball from 1972; handball as early as 1885 (albeit a different game was also known as handball in the 15th century); basketball dates from 1892; and baseball from 1845.

Hit Idioms

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

Hit it off dates from as early as 1780, and was used the same as the modern 'hit on' only from 1970.

Hit the nail on the head is recorded as early as 1570, but had nothing to do with hammers. This was an archery reference.

Hit the hay is first seen in 1912, which is strange as by then few mattresses would have been stuffed with hay.

Hit the bricks dates from 1909. Not heard today, it was trade union slang and referred to going on strike.

Hit (someone) up, to request something of someone, dates from 1917.

Not know what hit them is first seen in print in 1923.

Hit the road appears in print for the first time in 1873.

Hit and run has had no less than three lives. The vehicular reference is first seen in 1924; later this was also used for a military strike, first appearing in 1940; but the earliest, and probably the most obvious, is the baseball reference from 1899.

Hit the bottle is not seen before 1933, although 'hit the booze' had been in use since at least 1899.

Hit song/record/film/ etc dates as early as 1811, when it was used to refer to plays and shows.