More than any other single aspect of the language, I find delight in the nuances of idioms. I’m fascinated by their ability to convey meaning in just a few words, yet if you take what is said literally it is often gibberish. Idioms, of course, are those figures of speech that don’t actually mean what they say. Kick the bucket (for death), lose face (a reputation drop), paint the town red (celebrate). English is full of them.
It was a bit wet one day last week. I overheard two old-stagers who caught each other’s eye during the downpour. One said, “cats and dogs”. The other shook his head (although fully in agreement) and said, “stair rods”. That was the extent of the conversation. To anyone learning English, it’s a nonsense exchange. They could look up the word definitions yet never unravel a connection to the weather. But to anyone immersed in the language those idioms really caught the feeling of a rainy day.
You need a little knowledge to “get” idioms. Seeing people wrapped in parka-style coats, in the aforementioned rainstorm, brought another phrase to mind, “Nanook of the North”. Which made me think: who was Nanook? I’ve been hearing that idiomatic phrase since childhood, but realised I didn’t know who Nanook was, or if he ever existed. This is one of the things I like about idioms, unravelling their origins.
Research revealed that Nanook of the North was the title of one of the first ever docu-dramas, which, though a silent movie, gained worldwide fame when released in 1922. It must be said that the film has faced criticism in the intervening century for its romanticised account of the life of Nanook (really called Allakariallak), his wife and his hunting methods.
Serendipity, a flavoursome word always among those listed as people’s favourites, has a particular definition that you’ll find in dictionaries, which might disqualify it as an idiom. But I feel I can construct an argument for it. Its origin is another fascinating story. It comes from a 16th Century Italian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, in which the characters continually make lucky and pleasant discoveries they hadn’t been looking for. Their home, Serendip, is an old name for Sri Lanka. It comes from Sarandib, the Arabic name for the island.
Serendipity, as a distinct word, was coined by politician Horace Walpole in 1754. If “stair rods” is an idiom, then there’s a good case for serendipity being one too.
Word of the week
Fugacious (adjective)
Lasting a short time. EG. “Without the use of idioms, some descriptions would live a fugacious time in the memory.”
Read the latest Oh my word! every Saturday in The Courier. Contact me at sfinan@dctmedia.co.uk
