Why do we say……?

Part and parcel: the phrase, suggesting an integral part of something greater, was a legal term from the 15th century. As the use of both parts has changed over the centuries, the phrase seems to make little sense today. Part did mean ‘portion’ but parcel referred to ‘something integral with a whole’ – the idiom came into general use about 1800.

Beat around the bush: meaning to avoid or evade a particular topic, should be seen as an expression describing an act lacking the direct approach. It originates in the beaters who flushed out the birds in order to flush them out of their roosts and/or nests. The phrase first appears in the 1570s.

Under the weather: meaning to feel ill, originated at sea when sailors feeling unwell would go below decks to escape the elements – quite literally putting themselves under the weather. The phrase began to come into general use from around 1800.

A piece of cake: meaning ‘easily accomplished’ first appears around 1870. It is thought to have been derived from the awarding of cake in cakewalks (dances) in the US. In the UK, it is generally held to have been introduced from 1936 as RAF slang.

Break a leg: is to wish someone good luck, particularly in the theatre where wishing someone good luck is held to be bad luck. In the early days of the theatre the members of the troupe not performing had to remain behind the leg line – not until they crossed the line, thus breaking the leg, would they get paid. The phrase has been in use for a very long time and it is possible the idea first came about with the Ancient Greeks.

Costs an arm and a leg: or ‘expensive’, is not seen until the middle of the 20th century (although there are various unsubstantiated ideas the phrase dates from the 19th or 18th centuries). It is said to have begun as a comment about the high cost of medical care where limbs may still be amputated.

Once in a blue moon: describing a rarity, an actual ‘blue moon’ is the second full moon in a calendar month (the lunar month of 28 days being shorted than nearly all calendar months). Any blueness has nothing to do with the timing, the phenomenon is purely down to the observer. First seen in the middle of the 19th century, to have two full moons in a calendar month is not exactly that rare, indeed it has to happen on average every 33 months.

A blessing in disguise: or something which may prove rather better or more beneficial than is first apparent. It is first seen in 1746 in a work by James Hervey.

By the skin of your teeth: either barely avoiding or narrowly succeeding; it comes from the King James Version of the Bible, in Job 19:20, which reads: “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.”

Barking up the wrong tree: pursuing a mistaken course of action, is first seen in the USA in the early 19th century. It began in reference to hunting dogs when pursuing such as raccoons, which may have left a trail to suggest they were up the tree but had escaped.

Money Idioms

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

Your money or your life, is apparently how every highwayman in history confronted his (or her) victims. Yet it is not until 1774 that the first written evidence of the phrase is used.

In the money, describing someone as rich, originally referred to any competitor who finished a race or competition in a place where they won a prize and is first recorded in 1902.

Nobody put their money where their mouth was until 1942.

Money burned a hole in one's pocket as early as 1520, albeit correctly the phrase then included 'purse' instead of 'pocket'.

Money lenders were first recorded in 1765.

Money orders have been available since 1802.

Money maker is first seen in the 13th century when it really did refer to one who made (or minted) coin. By 1864 it had become used to refer to one who accumulates wealth, and the modern sense of 'to yield a profit' is first seen in 1899.

Money pit, something which swallows up cash as fast as it is thrown at it, is not recorded as a phrase until 1986 - the same year as a film of that name was released. The term had been used before, but in 1930 it was simply a pit found where a notorious pirate was held to have hidden his ill-gotten gains.

Smart money, cash used by those with prior information on a deal or bet, is first seen in 1926. However, the phrase is seen much earlier, for in 1760 it referred to money paid to buy the freedom of a recruit; and earlier still in 1690 it described cash paid to a sailor, soldier or other worker who had been disabled while employed.

Hush money, a bribe paid to get someone to keep their mouth closed on a subject, is first seen in 1709.

Word Idioms

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

Have words with first appears in a 15th century document.

Word to the wise is a translation of a Latin phrase, where verbum sapienti satis est meant 'a word to the wise is enough'.

Word for word is another of some age, appearing in the 14th century.

Word of mouth, once again, has some longevity and appears in writing for the first time in the 1550s. It would be good to know if the first time this expression, it speaking of an oral communication, appeared in writing the irony was not lost on the writer.

Swear word is obviously a combination of two simple and early English words. However, we do not find them in combination until 1873, when it is used in an America.

Crossword is another combining two much older words, and does not appear until 1925 when it is given as a 'crossword puzzle'. The first crossword in New York World newspaper on 21 December 1913, but was described as a 'word-cross'.

Feet Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. 'Spring' being an example, and seen in expressions such as 'spring fever', 'spring upon', 'spring chicken', 'spring cleaning', etc. This etymologist thought about looking at some of these and see what usage, origin, and beginnings can reveal. This time we start with 'foot'.

On foot is the earliest, at around 1300.

Hot foot is first seen in English around the same period of the early 14th century, but received a boost as American slang in 1896 to mean 'hastily', and saw a third revival around 1934 as a prank involving matches.

Put one's foot in it dates from 1823.

One foot in the grave is first seen in 1844.

We put our best foot forward for the first time in 1849, although Shakespeare did speak of 'the better foot before' in 1596.

Cold feet, for it is only used in the plural, first appears in 1893 and some sources suggest this is a bad rendition of an Italian phrase, avegh minga frecc i pee meaning 'to have no money', although this seems somewhat contrived.

Got off on the wrong foot is first seen in print in 1905, two years earlier than anyone ever got off on the right foot.

My foot, an expression of contempt, is first seen in 1923.

Put one's foot in one's mouth is not seen in writing until 1942.

One no longer used is 'foot' meaning 'a person' and thus 'non-foot' meant 'nobody'.

Pete, Jack, Minnie, et al.

Last time I looked at the origins of 'even-steven' and I started thinking of other phrases with names. Here's the result of my searches, starting with ....

For Pete’s sake - which is simply an alternative to 'For Christ's sake', which could be seen as blasphemy. It is not overly clear when Pete, a reference to St Peter, began to replace the Lord.

Jack of all trades is seen from the 17th century. Almost two hundred years earlier, Jack was a term used to describe the lower classes. Perhaps this came from the French, where Jacque was used to refer to peasants - and their very basic short coat was called a "jacket". As the phrase ends "and master of none" the original inference described one with no specific skill.

Moaning Minnie is one with a rather more interesting story. Indeed, we can even date it to a specific year and a known individual. The year is 1846 and the man is Captain Claude Etienne Minie, and he introduces a soft lead bullet for use in his army's rifles. On firing, the bullet would distort and the bullet made a distinct sound as it flew through the air toward its target. Hence the moaning Minne was originally a bullet - or so one story would have us. There is also the thought of a German mortar, but there is no record of the phrase Moaning Minnie being used during World War I, the phrase only becoming popular during WWII.

Plain Jane first appears in print in the play Doing for the Best by M. Rophino Lacy in 1861. It was once thought to be a reference to Jane Eyre but, while there are some plot similarities, it has latterly been dismissed as coincidental. As a stand-alone phrase it first appears in 1912, which appears to have been coined simply because of its rhyme.

Contrary Mary is another rhyme, but this undoubtedly originated in the nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. The oldest known version dates from 1744 in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, which tends to refute suggestions this is a reference to Queen Mary or Mary, Queen of Scots who were both alive in the 16th century and no known written versions of the rhyme date from anywhere near the Tudor period.

Jack the lad is likely dateable back to the early 18th century and Jack Sheppard, a notorious thief who managed to escape from gaol no less than four times. Eventually, when imprisoned for the fifth time, he was hanged at Tyburn. This hardened criminal, he was just 22 years old at the time, had a career in crime lasting just two years.

Johnny on the spot is first recorded in the April 1896 issue of the New York Sun. In that piece, the writer speaks of how the phrase had suddenly become very popular in the New York area, but had no idea where it originated.

Jack Robinson, a figure who appears and disappears very quickly, is first referred to as such around 1700 and even has an entry in a dictionary in 1785.