What’s the Word: Which side of foil is the best to use?
My boss and editor, James Clark, has entered into the spirit of my column of late. He asked the other day where the old saying “egg on your face” comes from. The phrase is usually used to indicate embarrassment. I did some research and the general consensus is that the saying originated from “the embarrassment suffered if the yellow yoke got on one’s lips or beard after eating a soft-boiled egg in one of those egg cups, a favorite breakfast of the upper crust. Yellow egg shows up especially well on a beard or mustache.”
Thanks to John Gold at the “Origin of Phrases” website for that one.
Ever wonder why one side of Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil is shiny and the other side is dull? I’ve heard people argue that one side or the other should be next to the food. But according to Nikki P. Martin, Reynold’s consumer services representative: “Both sides do the same fine job.”
The shiny side is simply a result of the manufacturing process, Martin says. In the final step of rolling out the foil, two layers of foil are passed through the rolling mill at the same time. The side that comes in contact with the mill’s highly polished steel rollers comes out shiny while the side that doesn’t come in contact with the rollers comes out dull.
Here’s a really wild one for you. Why do whips make a cracking sound when they are snapped? Well, apparently whips can attain a speed of more than 700 miles an hour when snapped, breaking the sound barrier. So what you are hearing is a mini sonic boom. Pretty cool.
Thanks to David Feldman’s book “Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise and Other Imponderables” for those last two fascinating tidbits.
Like many of us, I love movies, and, like most guys, especially action movies. So I found it pretty cool that one pretty common saying comes right from the movies. The phrase is: “Cut to the chase” which means get to the point of whatever it is you are saying or doing.
“Chase” refers to the obligatory scene that is the exciting climax of many action films. Someone watching an action movie with a slow build-up might actually be wishing the movie would literally “cut to the chase.” Thanks to John Kensmark and Ron Akers for that one.
One saying I’ve always found intriguing is “mind your p’s and q’s” which means to make sure your work is correct and accurate. It turns out this one probably comes from the publishing and printing trade. Typesetters used to have to use typesetting machines which utilized lead type called “sorts.” Since lower case p’s and q’s are similar, it was easy to confuse them when one proofed the type. Hence editors would admonish typesetters to “mind their p’s and q’s.”
But there are those who think it comes from English pubs where beer and ale were served in pint and quart containers. The barkeep would keep a tab on a chalk board of a customer’s purchases, and if one wasn’t vigilant, they might add a few when you weren’t looking. Thus it paid to “mind your p’s and q’s,” the pints and quarts on your tab.
I like the publishing explanation myself. An interesting adjunct to that one comes from the fact that the lead type are called sorts. The phrase “out of sorts” which is used to indicate unhappiness or irritation probably stems from a typesetter’s attitude upon running out of one letter or another while setting a page of type.
So I better end this column right now. After all, I wouldn’t want to get out of sorts on you.
(Charlie Johnson is a reporter for the Standard and can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at standard@blomand.net.)