What’s the Word: Another time, another meaning
As always, I am fascinated with the origin of phrases that I have heard over the years. Some of them make perfect sense the first time you hear them, like “hit the nail on the head” for instance.
On the other hand, some old sayings can leave you scratching your head in confusion. Of course, many of these phrases and sayings have been passed along and used for centuries. They may have made perfect sense in their time, but in this day and age the original situations that generated them may have disappeared into obscurity. So for many phrases you have to a bit of time traveling to figure them out.
For example, some phrases developed as euphemisms for things that couldn’t be said directly in that period in history. Phrases like, “for the love of Pete,” and “for Pete’s sake” were substitutes for “for God’s/Christ’s sake,” and “for the love of God/Christ,” which in the not so distant past were considered by many to be blasphemous and not to be uttered out loud. Now, some may wonder, why Pete? Most people seem to think it references Saint Peter. At any rate, apparently it was OK to take Pete’s name in vain.
Another phrase that always intrigued me, and also has religious origins according to some, is “knock on wood,” which means to try and bring good luck to a situation that may require it. As in, “hopefully I’ll pass my algebra final, knock on wood.”
According to one theory, this came from the middle ages when there were religious relics in circulation, including what were purported to be pieces of the cross on which Christ was crucified. Touching these was supposed to bring good luck, hence touch wood for good luck.
But by far, my favorite explanation for this phrase is the one that involves Wood Sprites. In medieval times people believed in mischievous spirits or ghosts called Wood Sprites that were said to relish causing trouble for the living. If a person talked about some good thing that was about to happen then the Wood Sprites would try to foul it up. So people thought maybe if you knocked on wood when you talked about such things then the Wood Sprites wouldn’t be able to hear you because of the noise and would leave you alone. Sounds good to me. Maybe not to the poor Wood Sprites though.
Here’s another phrase that the times have left a bit behind, “busting your chops.” This means to say things that are meant to harass someone, as in “You don’t have to get so upset, I’m just busting your chops.” This one really threw me for a loop the first time I heard it. Being a person who enjoys a good meal the first thing I thought of was pork chops, one of my favorites. And turns out, I wasn’t really that far off base.
Seems at the turn of the 19th to 20th century long sideburns, called mutton chops or lamb chops, due to the shape I suppose, were all the fashion for many men. So a bust in the chops meant to get hit in the face. Since, for the most part these days, long sideburns are no longer in fashion, and aren’t normally referred to as “chops” even if you wear them, the phrase doesn’t make much sense unless you know the origin.
Oh, and here’s one that I really love that made perfect sense in the past, but maybe not as much now. “Keep your shirt on,” which means asking someone to be patient. Today, with modern manufacturing methods clothes aren’t all that expensive to make, but in the past when they were handmade, or tailored, they were considerably more expensive comparatively. So someone thinking of starting a fight might take off his shirt to keep from damaging it. So telling someone to “keep his shirt on,” was like saying, “Hey, wait a minute here, no point in fighting about this.”
What’s that? Oh, all right then, I’m done with this column. Sheesh! Keep your shirt on.
(Charlie Johnson is news editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].)