Wood Idioms

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

Can’t see the wood for the trees is said to have first appeared in print in 1546, used in John Heywood’s Prouerbes in the English Tongue.

Out of the woods, a way to say ‘safe’, is most often used when describing a patient who is on the road to recovery. I found it surprising to learn it appears in print as early as 1792.

Matchwood, first seen around 1390 to describe small pieces of wood used as kindling, took on the use of small fragments of wood in 1791.

Heartwood, that central portion of the tree, is found as late as 1400.

Deadwood, as used to refer to something useless, is found from 1887.

Nobody collected driftwood before 1660 – at least they certainly collected it but did not refer to it as such.

Similarly firewood is not found in writings until the late 14th century, and yet humans must have been burning the stuff from the time when they first tamed fire.

Woodpeckers have only been known as such since 1520 – prior to that a variety of dialect terms were used including laughing Betsey, taffingale, yappingale, Jack Eikle, rainbird, weather cock, wet bird, and (as featured in that well-liked BBC series for children named Bagpuss) yaffle.

Nobody played a woodwind instrument until 1876, again used prior to that but not referred to as such.

Knock on wood is in print from the 19th century, but is believed to originate with the Druids more than two thousand years ago.

Put wood in the hole (or shut the door) is a phrase of uncertain origins, although I can guarantee it was not used before doors were used.

Come out of the woodwork – something long-lost relatives did on American soap operas -

Wooden spoon, is to come last in a competition, is said to have originated in the early 19th century at Cambridge University and an award given to the student coming last in the mathematics tripos – a course taught specifically at Cambridge.

And I could not resist putting in ‘shiver me timbers’, a phrase synonymous with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island - although he also uses ‘shiver me sides’ and ‘shake up me timbers’ – yet the first appearance in print is in 1834 when Captain Frederick Marryat published Jacob Faithful.

Silver Idioms

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

Silverware, ie articles made from silver, is first seen in the early 14th century.

Silver age was a term used to describe the years 18AD to 133AD and the literature produced during those years, it clearly wasn’t as good as the golden age which reigned for the previous 88 years.

Silver spoon in the literal sense is seen from the early 15th century, the metaphorical sense in referring to affluence is seen from 1719.

Silver hook may not be in general use these days, but from 1600 it was used to refer to anyone (or anything) can be lured if the potential prize is seen as worth it. Daniel Defoe wrote “The Golden Bait and the Silver Hook will catch Fish upon dry land” in 1708.

Silver bullet is a reference to a remedy so effective as to be almost magical, while weapons of silver have been lauded as guaranteed to defeat the foe since Greek times.

Silver lining, which as we all know every cloud has, is first recorded in 1843, when John Milton wrote Comus.

Silver star was a US military decoration from 1918, when a small badge was given to be worn on the campaign ribbon, then the medal itself was established on 8 August 1932.

Silver screen, a reference to the movie industry, is seen from 1924. However, the term had been recorded for the three preceding years and referred to the colour of the projection screens as the metallic paint gave a better result by being more reflective.

Quicksilver, an alternative name for mercury, is seen in late Old English cwicseolfor meaning ‘living silver’ as it is a liquid at normal temperatures and pressures. Thus this dates from around 1200 years ago.

Silverfish, that insect also known as the bristletail and which tends to eat paper, is recorded from 1855. References prior to that are simply generic terms for any fish.