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INTRODUCTION If I may be accused of encouraging or inventing a new vice the mania, or ‘idiomania, I may perhaps call it of collecting what Pater calls the ‘gypsy phrases’ of our language, I have at least been punished by becoming one of its most careless and incorrigible victims. (Logan Pearsall Smith, Words and Idioms, 1925) Our belief is that people turn to a book on idioms for two main purposes: for reference and to browse. We have tried to cater for both. Reference Each phrase dealt with in the body of the book is listed alphabetically in relation to a key word in it. As idioms are by definition phrases and not single words, there is necessarily a choice to be made of which word to classify the phrase by. We have exercised our judgement as to which is the key word (normally a noun or a verb) but, in case our intuitions do not coincide with the reader’s, we have provided an index of the important words in each expression. The head words are followed by a definition. This is the contemporary sense or senses an important point, given that many idioms have a long history and have undergone changes in meaning, often marked ones, during the centuries. Similarly, the comments under Usage are there to provide guidance on the current formality or informality of the phrase, typical contexts of its use, its grammatical peculiarities, variations in form all necessary reference material given that idioms characteristically break the rules (see What is an idiom?, page 6). A further guide to usage lies in the contemporary quotations that are a part of many entries. Quotations are listed in chronological order and the more recent provide a taste of how modern authors use idioms. We would vi • Introduction • like to thank Harper Collins for permission to use a number of quotations from their computer corpus (acknowledged in the text in each instance as ‘Cobuild Corpus’). We have drawn on the traditional collections of extracts for other examples, but the great majority of the contemporary illustrations are from the serendipity of our eclectic reading over the last year. We make no claims for comprehensive coverage of today’s press the quoting of Good Housekeeping and the Mid Sussex Times simply means that we read them regularly The bibliography is there both to show our sources and to provide a point of extended reference. It is by no means complete: it contains some of the books we have referred to which are collections of idioms of one type or another. To have included them all not to mention the hundreds of books of general language and wider reference we have consulted would have produced a bibliography of unmanageable length. If in the text of the book we refer to a specific source, the name of the author alone may be given (e.g. Edwards); if he has more than one entry in the bibliography, the name is followed by a date (e.g. Funk 1950). Browsing Our own love of the curious in language is, we have observed, shared by others. For them, and for ourselves, we have written the parts of this book that aim to please the browser. The entries have been selected because they have a tale to tell. Many idioms were rejected because there was nothing interesting to say about them. Plenty more have had to be excluded because of pressures of time and space, but we hope that what remains is a satisfying crosssection of the vast range of idioms which occur in everyday English, even if it cannot claim to be a comprehensive list. The etymology or etymologies, since there are often alternative accounts tries to go back to the earliest origins. We endeavour to give dates, but it is often impossible to do this with any confidence. Phrases have literal meanings, then they generally develop metaphorical uses and ultimately, in typical cases, acquire an idiomatic sense that is separate from the literal one. The form a phrase takes may also vary considerably over the years. It is therefore extremely difficult to state accurately when the idiom was first used as an idiom. Wherever possible, we make the best estimate we can. We have also sometimes selected quotations to show the historical change in the use or form of phrases, as well as for their intrinsic interest. The stories behind the expressions are in part those that authorities suggest. Our own researches have added to or replaced these, where we felt it was necessary. Quite often it is impossible to say with certainty what is the • Introduction • vii best source; in these instances, we have not hesitated to admit that doubt exists. There are various essays strategically situated throughout the book (usually near entries on a connected theme). These are of various kinds linguistic, historical, just plain curious and are intended to inform and entertain. One of them is entitled The Old Curiosity Shop of Linguistics (see page 108). This could also serve as the watchword for all that we have tried to provide for the browser In conclusion, our aim has been to provide a balance of reference information and a richer varied diet for the curious; we have striven for scholarly accuracy without falling into academic pedantry. We have certainly made mistakes and would welcome comments and corrections. We owe a debt to many. The erudition of Stevenson and Funk, for example, is extraordinary and it is complemented in recent times by the labours of Brandreth, Manser and Rees, amongst others. Our local library has been very helpful and our children, John and Anna, extremely indulgent with their occupied parents. To these and many more, our thanks. NOTE TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION We were delighted to receive very wellinformed comments from a number of sources on the publication of the hardback edition of this book. One correspondent even devoted much of Christmas Day to the task On the publication of the paperback edition, we would like to extend a similar invitation to readers to comment where they feel appropriate.
[...]... black sheep of the family, the to be out of favour with someone, to be in disgrace a member of a family who has fallen foul of the others, who is in disgrace Black books have a very long history The earliest ones seem to be collections of the laws of the times or of accounts of con temporary practice The black books referred to in the idiom are reports on monastic holdings and allegations of cor ruption... great a facility is often dangerous, and should be curbed when it shows signs o f getting the bit too firm ly between its teeth NO EL C O W A R D , Future Indefinite, 1954 bite off more than one can chew, to to try to do more than one can manage or is capable of An American phrase of late nineteenth-century origin It probably refers to the offering of a bite from a plug of tobacco A greedy... of the individual words that form it Although it is in form a phrase, it has many of the characteristics of a single word Grammar The second major way in which idioms are peculiar is with regard to their grammar There is no idiom that does not have some syntactic defect, that fails to undergo some grammatical operation that its syntactic 7 structure would suggest is appropriate Different types of idioms. .. productive in the same sort of way In Victorian times, the ‘uniform’ of an office worker was a black coat So the phrase grew a black-coated worker This referred to his social status and security in a good job - perhaps as a clerk in an office That was in Victorian England, and it has been suggested that in the turmoil of the First World War period an American counterpart of the British phrase arose:... given rise to a variety of expressions • over the last two hundred years or so, the phrase under discussion here only dates back as far as the 1920s when it was coined as an amusing rhym^ He points to the importance of rhyme, assonance and alliteration in the origins of many expressions and a vogue in the twenties for combining features of the body or articles of clothing with parts of animals, to bizarre... Scottish history records a very perti nent instance of the expression in action Members of the nobility at the court of James III were suspicious of the king’s new favourite, an architect named Coch ran The nobles met together secretly and determined to get rid of him, where upon Lord Gray asked, ‘Who will bell the cat?’ Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus was prompt with his reply: ‘I shall bell the... tucker are common alterna tive formulations Proverbs and idioms Proverbs exist in all languages and written collections of them date back to the earliest times A good example is the Book of Proverbs in Jewish sacred writings, which is of course also found in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible Proverbs are universally held in high esteem, whereas idioms have had to struggle for recognition Perhaps... a little surprising, as there’s some overlap between idioms and proverbs Proverbs can be defined as ‘memorable short sayings of the people, containing wise words of advice or warning’ Many idioms share at least some of these character istics For example, are a stitch in time saves nine and more haste, less speed better considered as proverbs or idioms? Or better late than never, the more, the merrier,... people of importance came to be known as big wigs Some contemporary big wigs, however, are becoming disenchanted with their headgear The first woman Speaker of the House of Commons refused to wear her wig on the grounds of comfort at work and Lord Chief Justice Taylor thinks that wigs and robes make the judiciary seem out of touch and remote Perhaps the time is coming when, like other figures of importance,... Henry Stephens, who was one of the most elegant writers of Greek, had learnt the practice from Angelo His name became synonymous for beautiful writing, and gave birth to the phrase to write like an angel From this explanation it is evident that the phrase is descriptive not of a person’s style of writing, but of his handwriting This critic, therefore, shows a modern shift of meaning for the idiom: Tell-tale . sources and to provide a point of extended reference. It is by no means complete: it contains some of the books we have referred to which are collections of idioms of one type or another. To have. Plenty more have had to be excluded because of pressures of time and space, but we hope that what remains is a satisfying cross-section of the vast range of idioms which occur in everyday English,. comments from a number of sources on the publication of the hardback edition of this book. One corres pondent even devoted much of Christmas Day to the task! On the publication of the paperback