{"id":4403,"date":"2019-08-15T11:58:01","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T01:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/?p=4403"},"modified":"2019-12-05T17:17:46","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T07:17:46","slug":"a-penny-for-your-thoughts-and-other-idioms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/a-penny-for-your-thoughts-and-other-idioms\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Penny for Your Thoughts\u2019 and Other Idioms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Have you ever wondered about the meaning of \u2018A penny for your thoughts\u2019 and other idioms that populate the English language?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do You Know What You\u2019re Saying?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Idioms Explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Wait. What\u2019s an idiom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Idioms\nare expressions peculiar to a specific language with meanings that are different\nfrom their literal interpretations. The word \u2018idiom\u2019 was coined in the late 16th\ncentury, from the French and Latin words (originating from Greek) meaning \u2018peculiar\nphraseology\u2019 and \u2018make one\u2019s own\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
English\nis filled with idioms that may seem wildly out of place in the language of our era.\nThey flavour our conversations and add further meaning to our sentences. They amplify\nour communications and have become so deeply ingrained in our language and culture\nthat they are sometimes difficult to recognise as idioms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s\nlook at some of the more common idioms and how they came to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ah,\nhistory. You know my penchant for it. As always, I promise to keep it brief (says\nGail).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018A Penny for your thoughts\u2019 and other idioms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Break\na leg<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This saying is used to wish someone luck or give them encouragement. The idiom came about in theatres and performance houses in relation to the old belief that uttering \u2018good luck\u2019 to a performer would instead bring bad luck \u2013 therefore, the opposite must also apply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its\ntrue rise to popularity came in the early 1920s, the golden age of theatre and \u2018talkies\u2019\nmovies that introduced sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another\nuse of the idiom is to encourage a person to put in the most amount of effort possible\nto the point of \u2018breaking a leg\u2019. This was also common throughout the early 1900s.\nSome speculate that this version of the idiom also has links to the assassin\nand actor John Wilkes Booth, who broke his leg attempting to leap onto the stage\nof Ford\u2019s Theatre following the murder of Abraham Lincoln. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beat\nabout the bush<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This common idiom has been around for centuries, tracing back to the 1440s in the poem Generydes \u2013 A Romance in Seven-line Stanzas<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Butt as it hath be sayde full long agoo, Some bete the bussh and some\nthe byrdes take.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As\nthe poem suggests, the idiom has evolved from the original literal interpretation\nof beating around a bush, irritating the birds within and thus, enabling the hunting\nparty to catch the birds as they fled. The earliest recorded version to include\n\u2018about\u2019 within the phrase is found in the 1570s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reaching\npeak popularity at the beginning of the 1900s, \u2018beat about the bush\u2019 is used to\ntell someone to hurry up. It also formed connections with the next idiom we discuss,\n\u2018cut to the chase\u2019. The two are often used in conjunction with each other despite\nthe time difference between their origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cut\nto the chase<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Brienna (see end of post) says that as someone who often rambles on, she has heard the phrase \u2018cut to the chase\u2019 \u2013 get to the point \u2013 more than a handful of times in her life. Yet another idiom that has found its way into everyday conversations, media and writing, this phrase has its early origins in the silent film industry, especially comedies, which often reached their climax in chase scenes. It seems that inexperienced screenwriters or directors would stretch out a film with unnecessary dialogue, boring the audience and drawing out the time before an exciting chase scene. Movie studio executives used \u2018cut to the chase\u2019 to mean that the film should get straight to the interesting scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An earlier version of the phrase (1880\u20131940) was \u2018Cut to Hecuba\u2019, used in matin\u00e9e performances of Hamlet<\/em> to mean to cut the long speeches before the reference to Hecuba. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Cut\nto the chase\u2019 is relevant in today\u2019s world of instant messaging and live news and\nmedia, with many people preferring to get straight to the important and relevant\npieces of information: instant gratification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\npenny for your thoughts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Meaning\n\u2018tell me what you\u2019re thinking\u2019 and usually said to someone who\u2019s off with the\nfairies, this idiom first appeared in the written language c.1522 in The\nFour Last Things<\/em> by Sir Thomas More:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018In such wise yt not wtoute som note & reproach os\nsuche vagaraunte mind, other folk sodainly say to them: a peny for your thought.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However,\n\u2018a penny for your thoughts\u2019 wasn\u2019t popularised until after 1562 when it\nappeared in The Proverbs and Epigrams of John Heywood<\/em>. The idiom originated\nin an era when a penny was worth a great deal more than its current value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nuse of this idiom has noticeably declined over the last few decades and is more\ncommonly used by older generations. Will this strange idiom weave its way out of\nour language completely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To\nkill two birds with one stone<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Despite its somewhat negative connotations,\nthe 17th-century idiom \u2018kill two birds with one stone\u2019 appears to have a figurative\norigin. It means to achieve two objectives with one action. In our age of multitasking\nand deadlines, its meaning maintains its relevance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Oxford English Dictionary <\/em>records\na 1655\u201356 exchange of views about free will between the philosopher Thomas\nHobbes and the Anglican Bishop John Bramhall: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018T. H. thinks to kill two birds with one stone, and\nsatisfy two arguments with one answer.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An\nearlier version of the idiom appears in a 1632 book A Complete History of\nthe Present Seat of War in Africa Between the Spaniards and Algerines<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\nis also speculation that the phrase has its roots in the Greek mythological tale\nof Daedalus and Icarus. With both men trapped, and hungry birds flying above waiting\nfor their demise, Daedalus uses stones to strike down the birds in order to create\ntheir own wings to escape on. He consequently discovers a throwing motion that allows\nhim to kill two of the birds with one stone. Who knows?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last straw<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The last idiom we explore, fittingly, is \u2018the last straw\u2019, sometimes \u2018the final straw\u2019, an idiom that expresses anger and frustration. It\u2019s the final tiny irritant or burden on top of a series of other seemingly minor burdens that causes what may appear an extreme reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idiom refers to the proverb \u2018the last straw that breaks the camel\u2019s back\u2019. Variants of the proverb include \u2018The last drop makes the cup run over\u2019 (1655), \u2018The last feather that breaks the horse\u2019s back\u2019 (1677), and the oriental proverb \u2018It is the last straw that overloads the camel\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The earliest recorded use of the phrase is in The Edinburgh Advertiser <\/em>(1816):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018MR. BROUGHAM remarked, that if it [a tax on soap] were only 3d. a head, or 4d. and 5d. upon the lower orders, yet straw upon straw was laid till the last straw broke the camel’s back.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018The last straw\u2019 has fluctuated in popularity over the centuries. Nevertheless, it remains a valid and colourful way to express irritation and anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPhoto by Mark Bosky on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
As we\u2019ve seen, idioms have wormed their way into our our everyday language and vocabulary. They add vibrancy to our communications and often a little humour as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will you notice the next time you use an idiom? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all, the devil is in the details …<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acknowledgements for \u2018A Penny for Your Thoughts\u2019 and Other Idioms <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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