Let’s explore the origin of some common sayings. After writing several columns about phrases like, “that takes the cake,” and “dead as a doornail,” many of you suggested some others.
I figured I had better write another column about those idioms now, or someone will accuse me of “beating around the bush.” Where did that one come from? Oddly enough, it originated from hunters, hundreds of years ago. According to the website “Mental Floss,” it alluded to hunters who would shake bushes and weeds to scare out birds, rabbits, or similar creatures. The critters could then be caught or snared in nets.
Hunters still practice this today. Just as hunters would “beat around the bush” prior to the actual catch, the term became used to describe putting off the inevitable, as in, “David might eventually get to the point, if he ever stops beating around the bush.” I am good at that.
Not all of these sayings go back to the old days. When I listened to Atlanta Braves games as a teen, announcer Ernie Johnson would say, “The Braves played well tonight, but came up short. It was close, but no cigar.” That idiom originated in the late 1800s. During that era, carnivals were a popular attraction, usually offering prizes to the winners of games like ring toss, shooting galleries, or the spinning wheel.
Guys like me always thought the game looked easy, and we were certain we could snag a prize. Not so fast! The more we played, the more we lost. But we were so close, we kept on trying. Cigars were considered “the smoke of celebration,” so they were a perfect prize. When the carnival wheel stopped just one click away from the jackpot, the carny would loudly announce that “You got close, but no cigar!”
I have written previously about my love for bananas, which are still the most amazing bargain in history. The price of everything we buy has skyrocketed in recent years, except for the humble banana. Somehow, through all of our economic crises, you can still get delicious bananas for around 59 cents a pound. I never ask why, because I don’t want to give retailers any ideas. So why is “going bananas” associated with losing one’s mind?
Some writers trace it back to 1960s college campuses. It may have evolved from another popular saying, “going ape,” which was used to describe someone exploding with anger, or erupting with enthusiasm.
Author Dan Koeppel, a fellow banana buff, wrote that “going bananas” might have originated from the youthful belief that a person could get high by smoking banana peels. We may never know for sure, but I will happily go (for) bananas any time.
During an election year, you might hear a candidate say, “Unless you vote for me, this country is going to hell in a handbasket.” The dictionary tells us that means “a situation is getting worse very quickly and is heading towards total ruin.” So if we are indeed doomed, why must we take our final ride in a handbasket?
Some researchers say the phrase is part of a 17th-century collection of expressions involving unusual methods of travel to the afterlife. In England, writers used phrases like “going to heaven in a wheelbarrow” or “going to hell in a hand cart.”
It is possible that the alliteration of “hell” and “handbasket” made the phrase easy to say. And since handbaskets were small and lightweight (compared to a wheelbarrow), they illustrated that the descent to hell would be speedy, like the downfall of a bad economy. Either way, we need to stay out of that handbasket.
And at the request of several readers, I’ll take on a southern swear word, sort of. If you ever heard your granny say, “Well I’ll swanee,” join the club. I heard this one hundreds of times. I never knew what it meant, I just knew she was frustrated about something. Maybe her recipe just wasn’t working out. “Swanee” was a clean way of saying “swear,” and we all know Granny would never swear.
Until next time, keep those letters and emails coming, and don’t beat around the bush!
