On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language. The book is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib with our American Stories, and we
tell stories about everything here on this show, including your story.
Send them to our American Stories. There are some of
our favorites. Up next, we continue with our recurring series
about the curious origins of everyday scenes. Here to join
us again is Andrew Thompson as he continues to share
another slaves from his Ultimate Guide to understanding these mini
(00:33):
mysteries of the language we all speak.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
In the lap of the gods means a situation whose
outcome is unclear and can't be influenced. Some say the
expression began with the practice of leaving gifts of fanks
with statues of gods, and whilst this has occurred for century,
the phrase actually derives from the Iliad Homer's text from
the eighth century BC. In the story, Achilles battles the
(00:57):
Trojans and kills Hector's brother Polydorus. Hector sees this and
challenges Achilles, brandishing a spear in his face. Hector says
to Achilles, I know you are brave and stronger than
me by far, but these things lie in the lap
of the gods. Though I'm the weaker man, I'll take
your life Achilles survives and the Trojans are defeated. A
(01:21):
last ditch attempt is a final effort to solve a
problem or avoid defeat, and it's a military term that
dates to the late seventeenth century. King William the Third
of England is credited with the expression. During the Anglo
French War with the Dutch Republic, William was offered to
be made sovereign Prince of Holland if he would capitulate,
but he refused, and an envoy of the Dutch king
(01:43):
threatened that William would witness the end of his fate.
William replied, there is one way to avoid this, to
die defending it in the last ditch. The phrase was
then picked up by the citizens of Westmoreland in the
American War of Independence, when in seventeen ninety eight they said,
in war, we know but one additional obligation, to die
(02:04):
in the last ditch or uphold our nation. By the
early eighteen hundreds, the figure was being used figuratively. If
someone's a laughing stock, they're an object of ridicule or humiliation,
and that originated from the medieval form of punishment. In England.
Most villages had stocks set up in the public square,
and the stocks comprised two sliding boards with holes in
(02:27):
them that were secured on a wooden frame. The hands
and feet of the victim were placed in the holes,
rendering him unable to escape or move freely. Petty criminals
were put in the stock so the town people could
gather around, laughing and humiliating the person, even throwing rotten
vegetables at them. The phrase laughing stock had developed into
its current use by the early fifteen hundreds. To lead
(02:49):
someone up the garden path means to deceive them, and
it's also sometimes set us down. The garden path, and
its origins started in the early nineteen hundreds in England country.
Estates at the time usually had acres of gardens that
contained trees, hedges, and pass that would wind throughout. It
was in the romantic parts of these gardens that gentlemen
would traditionally propose to their sweetheart. Women knew this, so
(03:14):
to be invited on a walk by a suitor was
a positive sign and one they were often keen to accept.
But it also wasn't uncommon for some men to lead
a woman up the garden path, not to propose marriage,
but merely to try to seduce her. To leave high
and dry means to be stranded without hope of recovery,
and not surprisingly, this expression relates to the world of sailing.
(03:37):
It dates on the early eighteen hundreds and originally referred
to a ship being run aground and unable to move.
This left the ship exposed and vulnerable to attack, and
the captain was rendered helpless until the tide came in.
Its first written usage was in The Times newspaper in
London in seventeen ninety six, where it was said that
a ship had gone aground when the tide had ebbed,
(03:58):
left her nearly high in d To be left in
the lurch means to be abandoned in an awkward or
difficult situation, and its origins are with an old French
board game called launch. It was played with dice and
was similar to backgammon. If a player was left in
a position from which they couldn't win, he suffered a launch,
which was a disadvantage. This concept was then brought into
(04:21):
the card game of cribbage, where if a player is
trailing by a certain margin, he is said to be
left in the lurch. To let the cat out of
a bag means to give away a secret, and it
dates from the early sixteenth century and derives from a
time when unscrupulous market vendors sold false goods. One of
their common deceptions was to substitute a worthless cat for
(04:41):
a valuable pig. After showing a buyer the sought after
suckling pig, negotiations on price would begin, and the pig
would be placed in a carry bag. At some point,
when the buy was distracted, the pig would be replaced
for a cat. It was only when the duped by
got home that the fraud was revealed and he let
the cat out of the bag. The expression licked into
(05:05):
shape means to mold something or someone to suite a situation,
and it derives from the ancient Roman belief that animals
were born formless and that their mothers had to lick
them into the required shape. This belief is likely to
have arisen because all mammals are born covered with a
thick after birth, which can make them unrecognizable. The mother
then licks that off and the probably formed animal appears.
(05:28):
Bear cubs in particular, are born in a seemingly shapeless
form and receive a lot of attention from their mothers,
so this would have also lent weight to the Romans belief.
If you say that someone is lily livid, it means
you think they are cowardly. It's often heard in Western movies,
and it's an expression that we owe to the ancient Greeks.
(05:49):
Like many others, they believe that the liver was the
organ that created blood, and that a poorly functioning liver
resulted in physical and mental weakness. In line with this belief,
they thought that a pale, lily colored complexion indicated a
cowardly person, while rosy cheeks would be found on a
strong man in good health. The Greeks also had the
custom of sacrificing an animal before each battle. They looked
(06:12):
to the animal's liver as an omen A liver full
of blood was a good sign, but a pale liver
did not augur well. It was the Great Barred Shakespeare
that brought the phrase into the mainstream when he used
it in his sixteen oh six play Macbeth. The lion's
share is the largest part of something, and it derives
from one of Aesop's fables which now bears that name.
(06:34):
It tells the story of a lion a wolf and
a fox, as well as an ass who kill a
stag to eat. The bounty is divided into quarters to
share equally, but before they start eating, the lion claims
the first portion because he's the king of the jungle.
He then claims the second portion because he's the strongest,
and then the third portion because he is the most courageous.
(06:56):
The other animals are left with the last quarter to eat,
but they are too afraid to claim it with the
line standing over them. So depending on the version of
the story, the line shares either three quarders or everything.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
And great job is always to Greg on the production,
and a special thanks to Andrew Thompson Hair of the
Dog to paint the town. Read is the book? Go
to Amazon dot Com and the usual suspects to buy it.
Andrew Thompson the stories of how our language came to
be here on Our American Stories. Lee Hibib here the
(07:33):
host of our American Stories. Every day on this show,
we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories
from our big cities and small towns. But we truly
can't do the show without you. Our stories are free
to listen to, but they're not free to make If
you love what you hear, go to Ouramerican Stories dot
com and click the donate button. Give a little, give
(07:55):
a lot. Go to Ouramerican Stories dot com and give
This is Lee Habib with our American Stories, and we
tell stories about everything here on this show, including your story.
Send them to our American Stories. There are some of
our favorites. Up next, we continue with our recurring series
about the curious origins of everyday scenes. Here to join
us again is Andrew Thompson as he continues to share
another slaves from his Ultimate Guide to understanding these mini
(00:33):
mysteries of the language we all speak.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
In the lap of the gods means a situation whose
outcome is unclear and can't be influenced. Some say the
expression began with the practice of leaving gifts of fanks
with statues of gods, and whilst this has occurred for century,
the phrase actually derives from the Iliad Homer's text from
the eighth century BC. In the story, Achilles battles the
(00:57):
Trojans and kills Hector's brother Polydorus. Hector sees this and
challenges Achilles, brandishing a spear in his face. Hector says
to Achilles, I know you are brave and stronger than
me by far, but these things lie in the lap
of the gods. Though I'm the weaker man, I'll take
your life Achilles survives and the Trojans are defeated. A
(01:21):
last ditch attempt is a final effort to solve a
problem or avoid defeat, and it's a military term that
dates to the late seventeenth century. King William the Third
of England is credited with the expression. During the Anglo
French War with the Dutch Republic, William was offered to
be made sovereign Prince of Holland if he would capitulate,
but he refused, and an envoy of the Dutch king
(01:43):
threatened that William would witness the end of his fate.
William replied, there is one way to avoid this, to
die defending it in the last ditch. The phrase was
then picked up by the citizens of Westmoreland in the
American War of Independence, when in seventeen ninety eight they said,
in war, we know but one additional obligation, to die
(02:04):
in the last ditch or uphold our nation. By the
early eighteen hundreds, the figure was being used figuratively. If
someone's a laughing stock, they're an object of ridicule or humiliation,
and that originated from the medieval form of punishment. In England.
Most villages had stocks set up in the public square,
and the stocks comprised two sliding boards with holes in
(02:27):
them that were secured on a wooden frame. The hands
and feet of the victim were placed in the holes,
rendering him unable to escape or move freely. Petty criminals
were put in the stock so the town people could
gather around, laughing and humiliating the person, even throwing rotten
vegetables at them. The phrase laughing stock had developed into
its current use by the early fifteen hundreds. To lead
(02:49):
someone up the garden path means to deceive them, and
it's also sometimes set us down. The garden path, and
its origins started in the early nineteen hundreds in England country.
Estates at the time usually had acres of gardens that
contained trees, hedges, and pass that would wind throughout. It
was in the romantic parts of these gardens that gentlemen
would traditionally propose to their sweetheart. Women knew this, so
(03:14):
to be invited on a walk by a suitor was
a positive sign and one they were often keen to accept.
But it also wasn't uncommon for some men to lead
a woman up the garden path, not to propose marriage,
but merely to try to seduce her. To leave high
and dry means to be stranded without hope of recovery,
and not surprisingly, this expression relates to the world of sailing.
(03:37):
It dates on the early eighteen hundreds and originally referred
to a ship being run aground and unable to move.
This left the ship exposed and vulnerable to attack, and
the captain was rendered helpless until the tide came in.
Its first written usage was in The Times newspaper in
London in seventeen ninety six, where it was said that
a ship had gone aground when the tide had ebbed,
(03:58):
left her nearly high in d To be left in
the lurch means to be abandoned in an awkward or
difficult situation, and its origins are with an old French
board game called launch. It was played with dice and
was similar to backgammon. If a player was left in
a position from which they couldn't win, he suffered a launch,
which was a disadvantage. This concept was then brought into
(04:21):
the card game of cribbage, where if a player is
trailing by a certain margin, he is said to be
left in the lurch. To let the cat out of
a bag means to give away a secret, and it
dates from the early sixteenth century and derives from a
time when unscrupulous market vendors sold false goods. One of
their common deceptions was to substitute a worthless cat for
(04:41):
a valuable pig. After showing a buyer the sought after
suckling pig, negotiations on price would begin, and the pig
would be placed in a carry bag. At some point,
when the buy was distracted, the pig would be replaced
for a cat. It was only when the duped by
got home that the fraud was revealed and he let
the cat out of the bag. The expression licked into
(05:05):
shape means to mold something or someone to suite a situation,
and it derives from the ancient Roman belief that animals
were born formless and that their mothers had to lick
them into the required shape. This belief is likely to
have arisen because all mammals are born covered with a
thick after birth, which can make them unrecognizable. The mother
then licks that off and the probably formed animal appears.
(05:28):
Bear cubs in particular, are born in a seemingly shapeless
form and receive a lot of attention from their mothers,
so this would have also lent weight to the Romans belief.
If you say that someone is lily livid, it means
you think they are cowardly. It's often heard in Western movies,
and it's an expression that we owe to the ancient Greeks.
(05:49):
Like many others, they believe that the liver was the
organ that created blood, and that a poorly functioning liver
resulted in physical and mental weakness. In line with this belief,
they thought that a pale, lily colored complexion indicated a
cowardly person, while rosy cheeks would be found on a
strong man in good health. The Greeks also had the
custom of sacrificing an animal before each battle. They looked
(06:12):
to the animal's liver as an omen A liver full
of blood was a good sign, but a pale liver
did not augur well. It was the Great Barred Shakespeare
that brought the phrase into the mainstream when he used
it in his sixteen oh six play Macbeth. The lion's
share is the largest part of something, and it derives
from one of Aesop's fables which now bears that name.
(06:34):
It tells the story of a lion a wolf and
a fox, as well as an ass who kill a
stag to eat. The bounty is divided into quarters to
share equally, but before they start eating, the lion claims
the first portion because he's the king of the jungle.
He then claims the second portion because he's the strongest,
and then the third portion because he is the most courageous.
(06:56):
The other animals are left with the last quarter to eat,
but they are too afraid to claim it with the
line standing over them. So depending on the version of
the story, the line shares either three quarders or everything.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
And great job is always to Greg on the production,
and a special thanks to Andrew Thompson Hair of the
Dog to paint the town. Read is the book? Go
to Amazon dot Com and the usual suspects to buy it.
Andrew Thompson the stories of how our language came to
be here on Our American Stories. Lee Hibib here the
(07:33):
host of our American Stories. Every day on this show,
we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories
from our big cities and small towns. But we truly
can't do the show without you. Our stories are free
to listen to, but they're not free to make If
you love what you hear, go to Ouramerican Stories dot
com and click the donate button. Give a little, give
(07:55):
a lot. Go to Ouramerican Stories dot com and give
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