Language is a living phenomenon and one that is constantly adapting and evolving over time. Nowhere is this more apparent than when it comes to popular phrases and idioms. These often enter the popular lexicon along circuitous and unexpected routes.
In fact, once a phrase has become a core part of a spoken dialect, few even question where it came from, even if the phrase itself is unusual. This has a lot to do with familiarity, as we don’t tend to consider words or phrases we’ve heard all our lives to be anything out of the ordinary.
Yet so many of these slogans, catchphrases and slang terms have fascinating stories to tell, and often emerge from the deep past, and from contexts wholly distinct from our present moment. Below we’re going to be taking an intriguing tour through some of the most distinctive and surprising examples of these popular phrases.
More than You Can Shake a Stick-at
This peculiar phrase flies under the radar in common speech, with many employing it in conversation without due consideration of its origin. This phase, as it’s used as an idiom today, is employed to refer to a large quantity or amount of something. It originates among shepherds, and as such its earliest use is likely obscured by the mists of time. Like Little Bo Peep, shepherds frequently employ crooks, or a large stick, in order to assist them in herding their flock. To have more than you can shake a stick at, is to imply your herd has a few too many sheep for it to be effectively herded with just a stick alone.
Doubling-down
When someone says they’re going to double-down, what does it mean to you? Most often nowadays this phrase is used in speech when someone decides to commit to a specific perspective, opinion or statement. To double-down is to, in this sense, remove the possibility of backtracking or changing your trajectory. Yet few realise this term has its origins in the popular card game, blackjack.
In blackjack, a member of the twenty-ones family of banking games, players can opt to double their original bet in exchange for one further card. This the very definition of a high-risk, high-reward strategy, as the probability of going bust, or overshooting the maximum point score of 21 is significantly greater. Naturally there are a range of factors that go into determining when this is an optimal move to make, but either way it’s easy to see how this definition corresponds to the term’s use as a common idiom.
Eating Humble Pie
This peculiar phrase has its roots in mediaeval Europe. The original phrase was not humble pie, but umble pie. What’s an umble, you reasonably ask? This was a word used to refer to the entrails and other cheap cuts of meat, deriving from the old French word numble, deriving itself from the Latin lumbus, or “loin”. At the mediaeval banquet table, the lords and aristocracy would be served the best cuts of meat following a hunt, whereas the lower-class guests would be served the umble, often in the form of a pie – hence, eating umble pie, a curious cuisine worth exploring for the food historian. Today this phrase, like the related idiom to “eat one’s words”, means to cow yourself or accept some form of humiliation. In the stratified caste system of the middle ages, the sheer act of eating a lower quality meat would lead to the same result.
To Show One’s True Colours
This one comes from the maritime world during the 18th century, a time when colonial powers roamed the world’s oceans and were frequently at war with one another. An established convention was to fly the true flag, or colours, of the nation to which your ship owed its allegiance, before firing on an enemy vessel. The reasons for not doing this otherwise are many and varied, often having to do with keeping a low profile, or gaining access to specific ports where certain nations were formally embargoed. Now as then, to show one’s true colours is to reveal your true identity and intentions.
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
