Don't Take Me Seriously - Book - Page 168
Featured commentary
Some interesting intricacies of idioms
F
or some reason, most likely
one arising from childhood
psychological trauma, the
many subtleties of words and phrases
— and sometimes their downright
weirdness — fascinate me. And the
smallest quirks of lingo can send me
on extended and perilous journeys
of expression-analysis, from which I
might, one day, not return.
Picture Leonardo DiCaprio in
“The Aviator,” as Howard Hughes,
compulsively repeating the phrase,
“the way of the future,” and you
have some idea of the danger that
threatens me.
And, being a generous sort, I share
my disease with you here, offering
up the treasures I brought back
from my latest quest — a look at the
intricacies of idioms.
You will remember that an idiom
is “a group of words established
by usage as having a meaning
not deducible from those of the
but not being so nice when you
Jim back,”
give them “the boot” or “the slip.”
How about the following two
WALKER idioms?
You have a big, dark secret
DON’T TAKE ME SERIOUSLY
individual words (e.g., raining cats
and dogs).”
Now, just how the “enhanced”
meaning of the words in any idiom
came about is often lost in history.
That’s too bad. But just as interesting
is how somewhat similar idioms
can evoke very different emotional
responses.
For example, consider these items
of attire: shoes, a pair of pants, a
shirt, a boot and a slip.
You see, it is generally believed to
be a good and enlightening thing to
“put yourself in another’s shoes.” But
“getting in their pants” has a whole
different connotation. Similarly, you
are being very generous when you
give someone “the shirt off your
if you have a “skeleton in your
closet,” but the disclosure of that
secret might, sometimes, be through
“coming out of the closet.”
Oh, we have more.
You can toughen up and “bite the
bullet,” but, if you literally do, you
might “bite the dust.”
And, speaking of biting, you
can “bite the hand that feeds you,”
which very often will “come back
to bite you.”
You are embarrassed if you have
“egg on your face,” which can
sometimes result if you “lay an egg.”
You can “cry over spilled milk,”
even though you might have
avoided buying the cow because
you “got the milk for free.”
You can be “mad as a wet hen,”
which is very different from being
“mad as a hatter.”
You can be a “goody-two-shoes,”
you know, if you have two shoes.
But you might be “waiting for the
other shoe to drop.”
You can have “ants in your pants,”
which probably directly led to the
origin of the phrase “feeling antsy,”
which is not really an idiom, but
serves good purpose here.
You can be “two-faced,” even if
you do it “with a straight face.”
You can “keep your fingers
crossed,” hoping for a bargain to
come along — or you can just take “a
five-finger discount.”
Something can be a “drop in the
bucket,” but if that drop is “the last
straw,” it might cause you to “kick
the bucket.”
You can “beat a dead horse,”
something with which I have had
recent experience, and is considered
a waste of time, or you can be hungry
enough to “eat a horse,” which is
considered a sign of good appetite —
yet implies that a horse would have to
die, and so maybe the beating would
just be considered tenderizing.
You can “skate on thin ice,” which
puts you in danger of “breaking the
ice,” which is usually considered a
good thing, socially speaking.
Conversely, if you are “three sheets
to the wind,” it could put you in
danger of “breaking wind,” which “is
an ill wind that blows no good” and
not usually such a social triumph.
Oh yeah, there are a million of
them. Only space and my estimation
of your attention spans limit me here.
So, “keep an eye out” for the next
installment of idioms — which
you would think might limit your
vision, but is actually the opposite of
“turning a blind eye.”
OK, OK, I’ll stop, you know, for
now.
Comment at jwalker@the-signal.
com or Twitter @DontSeriously.
