 As the days grow shorter I find I have an increased appreciation for slumber. The verb slumber comes from Germanic sources & showed up in Old English meaning to doze, drowse, or sleep lightly. Doze came to English in the 1640s from a Scandinavian source & is related to dizzy. Doze means to sleep lightly or fitfully. In 1841, Dr. William Kitchener coined the idiom forty winks, meaning a short sleep. No one really knows why he chose forty over thirty or fifty. The verb nap, a short sleep, has been with us since Old English, likely from a Germanic source. English speakers have used the idiom shut-eye since 1899. It appears to have grown out of either a Hans Christian Andersen story called Ole’ Shut-eye or Eugene Fields’s poem, The Shut-Eye Train. We’ve used the word snooze since 1780. Etymologists haven’t nailed down the source, but many say it’s onomatopeoic for the sound of a snore. Hmmm. Repose came to English in the 1400s from Late Latin through Old French. It translates to to rest oneself. Rest comes from an Old English noun meaning couch. Please excuse me while I restfully rest on this restful rest. And sleep came to Old English from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning to be weak, to sleep. Sleeping is weak? I beg to differ. Any thoughts on all this snooziness? Feel free to comment. Big thanks to this week’s sources: Etymonline, Merriam Webster, the OED, Collins Dictionary, & i.pinimg.com.
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 This week, here’s a sampling of wise women’s thoughts on novels. Novels, like human beings, usually have their beginnings in the dark. -Rita Mae Brown A great novel is a kind of conversion experience. We come away from it changed. -Katherine Paterson One doesn’t “get” an “idea” for a novel. The “idea” more or less “gets” you. It uses you as a kind of culture, the way a pearl uses an oyster. -Diana Chang In this genre, perfection may require the greatest genius, but mediocrity is well within everyone’s grasp. -Madame de Stael The suspense of a novel is not only in the reader, but in the novelist himself, who is intensely curious too about what will happen to the hero. -Mary McCarthy The dead hand of research lies heavy on too many novels. -Nancy Hale Each sentence must have, at its heart, a little spark of fire, and this, whatever the risk, the novelist must pluck with his own hands from the blaze. -Virginia Woolf Big thanks to this week’s sources: The New Beacon Book of Quotations by Women, Brainy Quotes, Bookroo, & PngTree.  Why not celebrate the season with a look at ghost — its sources & its idioms.
Ghost appeared in Old English from Proto-West-Germanic, & originally meant breath, good spirit, bad spirit, angel, demon, or human being. Talk about a word that covered all the bases. And etymologists are pretty sure an even earlier root was *gheis-, which had to do with excitement, amazement, or fear. Ghost’s etymological cousins include aghast, ghastly, poltergiest, & zeitgeist. Ghost shows up in a number of idioms: ghost of a chance ghost story ghost image ghost town ghost writer ghost in the machine to look like one has seen a ghost to ghost someone ghost of a smile ghost of a doubt ghost of an idea white as a ghost pale as a ghost ghost at the feast ghost dance holy ghost give up the ghost May any ghosts you encounter this season be carrying plastic, candy-holding pumpkins. Thanks to this week’s sources: Merriam Webster, the OED, Idioms Academy, Etymonline, Phrases.com, Collins Dictionary, & FreePik.  Pit is one of many words that come to us from more than one source. The first meaning of pit, a natural or man-made depression in the ground, comes through Old English from the Latin noun puteus, a well, pit, or shaft. Hardworking etymologists haven’t quite decided where puteus comes from, though theories abound.
The second meaning of pit, a hard seed, comes through Middle Dutch from a Proto-Germanic word we now spell pith, the central cylinder of the stems of plants. From that meaning, pith morphed to mean the essential part or quintessence, with the figurative meaning the energy, concentrated force, or vigor of thought & style. The pith helmet is so named because it was made of the pith of the Bengal spongewood. Then of course, there’s the verb to pith, to kill by piercing the spinal cord (to kill by means of the essential part or quintessence). And let’s not forget the pithy saying which gets down to the essence of things. The verb pit, to set against another, comes from the first meaning of pit & was initially employed in the inglorious “sport” of cockfighting, in which roosters were thrown together into a pit to fight. These idioms come from the first meaning: bottomless pit it’s the pits armpit pit of the stomach snake pit money pit pit stop These idioms come from the second meaning: cut to the pith great pith & moment pith of the matter These idioms & words come from the verb: pit against pit one’s wits against pitbull May all your words be pithy. Big thanks to this week’s sources: The Free Dictionary, Collins Dictionary, Etymonline, the OED, & Vecteezy.  Idioms fascinate & entertain me. Simply reading a list of idioms always brings a smile to my lips, so I’m hoping this list, starting with the verb live… brings a smile to your lips. For maximum smile potential, I suggest reading them aloud. Live & learn Live & let live Live beyond one’s means Live by one’s wits Live for the moment Live from hand to mouth Live high on the hog Live in Live in an ivory tower Live it up Live next door to someone Live off something or someone Live off the fat of the land Live on borrowed time Live on something Live out of a suitcase Live something down Live through something Live up to something Live within one’s means Now there’s some living, & hopefully some smiling, too Big thanks to this werek’s sources: NTC’s American Idioms Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, Ultimate Lexicon, Oyster English, & Dreamstime.  It seems everyone I run into these days is annoyed:
world events, politics, the state of the nation... Some of those people might be defined with stronger words than annoyed, but for this week, let’s take a look at some synonyms of annoyed. To be annoyed means to be temporarily disturbed by something that displeases one or tries one’s patience. Being vexed is feeling annoyance, irritation or distress. When one is irritated, one is angered, provoked, or made raw. Being peeved means being irritated or prokoved, usually over something minor or petty. To be irked suggests one’s patience has been worn down by a persistent annoyance. To be bothered implies a minor disturbance of one’s peace of mind & may suggest mild perplexity or anxiety. When we are piqued, we are aroused by provocation. When one is infuriated one is unrestrainedly raging or violent. To be plagued means to be experiencing mental torment comparable to the physical suffering caused by an affliction. And those feeling shirty are pettily irritated. Here’s hoping this next week of news allows us to avoid most of these feelings. Biug thanks to this week’s sources: my 1959 Webster’s New World Dictionary, Merriam Webster’s Thesaurus, the OED, Collins Dictionary, & Alamy.com.  Last weekend I had the good fortune to play in two tribute concerts for a local organization called Songwriters at Play. In these shows, a dozen or so musicians paid homage to the songs of Tracy Chapman & Bruce Springsteen. I was honored to share a stage with some phenomenal talent, & though I chose to play lesser known songs, we had some amazing performances of BIG HITS. One, of course, was Chapman’s Fast Car, which wowed us all. The performer, Jesse Loren Strickman, offered Chapman’s lyrics & guitar licks, somehow making the gutting emotions of the song fresher, newer, & more powerful. Wow.
So this week let’s take a look at the origins of select words from Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car. So remember when we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder And I had a feeling that I belonged I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone Driving came to us from the field of hunting in Old English meaning to urge to move, to impel from a Proto-Germanic word meaning to impel or drive away. It picked up its association with vehicles in the 1700s. Drunk also comes from Old English & became an adjective in the 1300s meaning intoxicated or inebriated. Over the years it’s been possible to be drunk as a skunk, drunk as a mouse, & drunk as a wheelbarrow (I’m not making this up). Wrapped came to English in the 1300s from uncertain sources, meaning to roll or fold together, surround, envelop, swaddle. Shoulder, or some version of it, has been with us since Old English & has pretty much always meant shoulder. It may be related to the word shield, & has a figurative meaning that may contribute to the power of Chapman’s word choice — the strength or sustaining power to support burdens. Belong(ed) showed up in English in the 1300s meaning to go along with. It’s probably associated with the word long, meaning from end to end. Someone started out in the 1300s as two words which joined forces in the 1800s meaning a certain but unknown person, a person indefinitely considered. I’ve searched the world over & have found no reference source that lists the meaning of someone as used in the song — a person of importance or value. Interesting. Any thoughts on these words’ sources? On the song or its emotional resonance? Thanks to this week’s sources: A-ZLyrics, Etymonline, the OED, & FineArtAmerica.  Those of us “of an age” remember hearing the claim that “the Inuit have a hundred words for snow!” We also remember the counter-argument popular a decade later that the initial claim was a hoax.
This year a new study of hundreds of bilingual dictionaries found that, yes indeed, the Inuit have more words for snow than cultures that arose in areas with less or no snow. And the same thing happens with many other words. Intuition would tell us that a language reflects the experience of those who speak the language, & what a surprise! It’s true. This study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA & reported on in Scientific American, also shows the following: Indigenous cultures of Northern & Central America, the Pacific, & selected areas of Africa have more words for dance than most languages. Languages along the equator have more words for smell than most languages. Desert-based languages have more words to describe the desert. Mongolians have more words for horse than most. Samoans have more ways to say lava than most. And the Scots have more ways to say oatmeal than most. Oatmeal. It wouldn’t have occurred to me. In what areas do you think your language is likely an overachiever? Big thanks to this week’s sources: Scientific American, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, & Adobe Stock.  Years ago I had a friend who when needing to use the bathroom would say, “Excuse me, I have to euphemize.” He was poking fun at our culture’s tendency to avoid direct mention of urination. In celebration of his brilliance, here’s a tiny selection of euphemisms he might have used instead of I have to euphemize. Go #1 Take a leak Talk to a man about a horse Shake hands with the mayor Spend a penny Use the restroom Use the washroom Use the water closet Use the ladies’ room/men’s room Use the lavatory Use the facilities Use the loo Use the privy Visit the comfort station Go to the can Hit the head Hit the john Answer nature’s call Relieve myself Take a pit stop Powder my nose Then there are the “synonyms” which still reek of euphemizing. Piddle Pee Wee Whiz Tinkle We humans are so very complicated, aren’t we? If a related euphemism (or euphemism-reeking synonym) is bouncing around in your brain waiting to be shared, please do so in the comments. Big thanks for this week’s sourcces: Let’s Learn Slang, Fluent Slang, Urban Thesaurus, & DragoArt.  Time to take a stand? Stand is a very old word. It takes up over fourteen pages of the Oxford English Dictionary & comes through Middle English & Old English from Proto-Germanic. Along the way it has meant many things. -to occupy a place -to stand firm -to congeal -to stay -to continue -to abide -to be valid -to take place -to oppose -to resist attack -to be on one’s feet -to consist -to amount to -to make firm or be firm -to encounter without flinching or retreating -to endure, undergo, or come through -to put up with Stand has given birth to the following idioms: Stand back Stand by Stand by someone Stand for something Stand in awe Stand in for somemone stand on ceremony Stand on one’s own two feet Stand out Stand still Stand up Stand someone in good stead Stand pat Stand by your man Stand down Stand one’s ground Stand to reason Stand one’s chances Stand & deliver Take a stand May the stands we take stand us all in good stead. Big thanks to this week’s sources: the OED, Etymonline, NTC’s American Idioims Dictionary, PhraseFinder, Atlas Vocabulary, & Taha Elhamed. |
I write for teens & tweens, bake bread, play music, and ponder the wonder of words in a foggy little town on California's central coast.
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