Let’s explore the origin of some common sayings. After writing several columns about sayings like, “Sight for Sore Eyes” and “Don’t Fly Off the Handle,” many of you suggested some others.
Did your parents ever say, “Well, That Takes the Cake!” Remember the cake walks of your childhood? In the 19th century, community dance contests awarded an actual cake to the winners, cementing “take the cake” as the result of achieving first place honors. Of course, if you were a superb dancer, winning the competition was a piece of cake, right? And winning the cakewalk while leisurely strolling proved how easy it was. That’s why a political candidate who gets 80 percent of the vote is said to have won “in a cakewalk.”
But as time went on, “taking the cake” took on a more negative connotation. The phrase shifted from a literal win to a term frequently used to describe the most ridiculous example of a bad situation. It’s like losing your car keys at the end of an already bad day. Now, THAT takes the cake!
It’s always fun to research an idiom that dates back 700 years. If you’ve ever declared something to be “dead as a doornail,” you are repeating a saying from the 14th century. In 1590, it was repeated by William Shakespeare, and then was used most famously in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” in which the opening line was “Marley was dead as a doornail.” Here’s the reasoning behind it: while building doors, nails were bent and curved in a way that ensured they could ever be used again. So, in that sense, the doornails were dead, at least to the builder.
Also, from the olden days, is “caught red-handed.” The first usage is believed to date back to 15th century Scotland. The meaning was quite literal, describing a person caught with blood on their hands from poaching animals. That’s why, if you’re captured on video running a red light, you can consider yourself caught red-handed.
As a kid, when I heard someone say, “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” that actually sounded enjoyable. I mean, who wouldn’t want to have a cute monkey nephew running around the house?
This one originated in Dayton, Tennessee during the 1925 Scopes Trial. After Charles Darwin claimed humans and apes shared a common ancestor, many people mocked him. So, saying “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle” meant “If this ridiculous science is true, then I am related to a monkey.”
We have long had a tendency to soften up swear words and phrases, in an effort to avoid punishment from our parents or condemnation from our pastor. How many times have we exclaimed, “Holy Moses, Holy Smokes, Holy Toledo, Holy Buckets, Holy Mackerel” and other “holy” explanations often followed by words that are not holy. But the all-time champion is surely “Holy Cow!” This was the go-to phrase for the legendary baseball announcer Harry Caray. If one of his beloved Chicago Cubs sent a baseball into the bleachers, Harry would bellow, “Holy Cow, Ryne Sandberg has done it again!”
This one may have been based on a general awareness of the holiness of cows in some religious traditions, particularly Hinduism. It may have also been considered offensive to some whose cultural and religious traditions are upheld. But that didn’t stop Harry Caray, who began using it early in his career, to prevent himself from lapsing into vulgarity. So, his intentions were pure.
And speaking of baseball, long before I knew the correct position name, I thought the guy with the mask and the big mitt behind home plate was a “hind catcher.” After all, he was behind the batter, right? I’m told by baseball experts that “hind catcher” was primarily used in the south, particularly in Alabama. Everywhere else, it was just plain old “catcher,” which sounds positively boring by comparison. When my Pennsylvania-born wife first heard some of my rural Alabama friends say “hind catcher,” she thought it was funny. Now, doesn’t that take the cake?
Keep sending in your suggestions. When I don’t hear from you, I tend to go bananas. I’ll catch that one next time.
