This is a non-programming related article. I got idiom sniped yesterday while watching a movie where an actor said that he is "under the weather" which was an idiom that doesn't make sense to me, at all.
Some other folks didn't even reflect on that the idiom doesn't make sense in the literal sense, so the metaphors seems to have been lost along the way.
I digged deeper into the English language roots of some idioms that are my favorite ones in terms of confusing languages and lost methaphorical meanings where their ethymology changed over the generations of usage.
So here's a list of my favorite confusing idioms.
To Break the Ice
This is a nautical terminology. When the sea was frozen, the ice shells on top had to be broken in order for trading ships to get through. As there was no radiowaves discovered, it would allow communication via letters as well.
The idiom "To break the ice" nowadays means something like "to start a dialog/communication".
Being under the weather
This is a nautical terminology. When there's storms and the resulting waves get more extreme on the oceans due to current changes, sailors that got seasick more easily due to the shaking ship went below deck.
Specifically, these sailors went "under the weather bow", meaning below deck and moved towards the front of the ship where the shaking movements from the side are with the lowest intensity.
A little more nautical terminology :
- "Bow" is the front of the ship
- "Stern" is the back of the ship
- "Port" is the left side of the ship
- "Starboard" is the right side of the ship
Starboard and Port
Starboard is a nautical terminology. Before ships were built with a centered rudder, they were built for right-handed sailors. The "Steor Bord" side of the ship was therefore describing the side of the ship where the steering wheel was found.
As the rudder was built onto the right side of the ship, that would also imply that the ship itself couldn't dock on that side without damaging the rudder by accident. Therefore "port side" was born which evolved into "Port" only.
Let the Cat out of the Bag
This idiom also lost its meaning in modern times. Originally, it was describing a market scam where someone tried to sell a (more valueable) pig in a bag, but the bag actually contained a (less valueable) stray cat inside it.
The idiom "Letting the cat out of the bag" nowadays means something like "to reveal a secret".
Cut to the Chase
This idiom was created by movie culture from the silent (audioless) era of movies. Old films, especially silent films, had lots of dramatic chase scenes.
The idiom "cut to the chase" nowadays means something like "skip to the interesting part".
Bite the Bullet
Wounded soldiers would have to bite into a bullet when they were not under anesthesia during surgery due to lack of supplies in the lazarets on the frontlines.
The idiom "bite the bullet" nowadays means something like "to endure something painful".
Pull out all the Stops
This originally comes from pipe organs in the church. If you pull out all the stops, the organ instrument makes music at the maximum volume.
The idiom "to pull out all the stops" nowadays means something like "to make every possible effort".
Mad as a Hatter
Hatters, or hat makers, were handling a lot of mercury in their profession which causes neurological damage. That neurological damage in their brain would lead to them reacting very erratically to emotional situations because they would get overwhelmed very easily.
The idiom "to be as mad as a hatter" nowadays means something like "to be completely insane".
Burn the Midnight Oil
Before electricity existed, oil lamps were a common source of lighting in households. "Burning the midnight oil" meant to stay up very late passing midnight to do the work.
The idiom "to burn the midnight oil" nowadays means something like "to work late into the night".
Caught Red-Handed
To be "caught red-handed" came from old investigators where there was no evidence like DNA analysis or modern forensic techniques. The term described that someone was caught in the act or right after the murder, because their hands were still full of blood splatter from their victims.
The idiom "to be caught red-handed" nowadays means something like "to be caught in the act".
Pass the Buck
In Poker card games, there was often a buckhorn knife on the table present which would indicate whose turn it was. Passing the buck would indicate that the next player in rotating order would have to make their turn for betting.
The idiom "to pass the buck" nowadays means something like "to pass the responsibility to someone else".
Put a Sock in it
Old gramophones had needles that were physically moving up and down to play a recorded audio track. Older models didn't have an audio volume control button, meaning people would literally put a sock in the speaker horn to lower the volume of the played recording sounds.
The idiom "to put a sock in it" nowadays means something like "to be quiet".
Saved by the Bell
Boxing sports terminology. In a boxing ring, two contestants fight each other and the weaker athlete would be saved by the bell (of getting beaten up) once the timeout for each round was reached. The judges typically ring the bell after a static timeout of a couple minutes, and later on rounds are evaluated each on their own to determine the winning party of the fight.
The idiom "to be saved by the bell" nowadays means something like "to be rescued from a difficult situation in the last moment".
Throw the Towel
Boxing sports terminology. In a boxing ring fight, the trainer would often throw in the towel of the athlete to signal a surrender of the fight.
The idiom "to throw in a towel" nowadays means something like "to surrender" or "to give up".