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A Bunch of Idioms

Hudson Cooper
Posted 7/22/22

I may be barking up the wrong tree but many of us occasionally use idioms without even realizing it. As a reminder, an idiom is a phrase that has come to mean something totally different then its …

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Random Thoughts

A Bunch of Idioms

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I may be barking up the wrong tree but many of us occasionally use idioms without even realizing it. As a reminder, an idiom is a phrase that has come to mean something totally different then its original intent. To break the ice, this column will examine some of the more common idioms.

If you look carefully, idioms can be found everywhere from our vocal language to printed text. For those of you who zipped through this column’s opening paragraph you might have missed two examples of them.

“Barking up the wrong tree” has come to mean that one is following the wrong lead or has misdirected thoughts concerning an event or situation. The original intent of that idiom pertains to the use of hunting dogs. We have all seen shows where hunters follow the barking sounds of their dogs. Eventually the dogs yelp at their prey up in a tree. However, sometimes the prey has escaped to another tree. So, the disappointed hunting party packs away their rifles and call off the dogs as the intended prey, a terrified squirrel, watches from a nearby tree.

I used the barking idiom to break the ice on describing how this column will be constructed. Each paragraph tracing the current usage and history of the idiom’s phrase will include another one hidden in the text. “Breaking the ice” has become a way to describe opening a dialogue between friends or finding common ground to resolve differences. Historically, the phrase was a maritime expression that described having a ship break through ice floes to get to shore. Failure to make it to shore to offload its catch would make a ship’s captain mad as a hatter.

“Mad as a hatter” is used in our jargon to describe a person that is so irate that they seem a little crazy. Surprisingly, the phrase does not refer to the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland.” In 17th century France, hat makers used mercury in manufacturing felt hats. The resulting mercury poisoning would sometimes cause the hat wearer tremors, shakes and an appearance of being madly insane as people watched them fly off the handle.

“Fly off the handle” is used today to mean to suddenly become out of control with rage. The phrase stems from the early 1800’s when the making of axes was not perfected. Sometimes the swinging of the axe would make the axe head suddenly disengage and fly off the handle. Eventually axes were better constructed which was hands down a safe way to prevent injury.

We use the idiom “hands down” to indicate a decisive way to manage a situation. It derives from horse racing and indicates that if his horse is far ahead, the jockey can drop his hands down and ease up on the reins. It was a way of showing that the horse and jockey were passing with flying colors.

Another maritime based expression is “passing with flying colors.” A warship, having successfully defeated its enemy, would hoist its many colored flags to claim victory. It helped to be victorious if your vessel was armed to the teeth.

“Armed to the teeth” is another nautical-based idiom. During the 17th century, pirates ventured far and wide to attack merchant vessels and take their bounty. To ensure that they had the upper hand in battle, pirates often held a pistol in each hand. They also held a sharp knife between their teeth for close combat when boarding their targeted ship. Sometimes the pirates were overmatched by the manpower and weaponry of the other ship. Realizing that defeat was a possibility, a pirate captain might bite the bullet and call off the attack.

“Bite the bullet” is an idiom that connotes that it might be time to accept something difficult or unpleasant. The phrase stems from the time before anesthesia. Doctors who had no other way of easing a patient’s agony during surgery would have them bite down on a bullet in an attempt to ease the pain.

Idioms have worked their way into our lexicon. Since their meaning has become totally different than first used, they complicate those trying to learn English. There are over twenty thousand idiomatic expressions in our language. Many years ago, American fairgrounds rewarded a winner of a carnival game with a cigar. So, if you have mastered only a couple of dozen idioms, as carnival barkers used to say to losing players, you are “close but no cigar.”

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