You think you speak English but, let’s not beat about the bush, you speak Idiomish. Our language is stuffed with idioms.
An idiom is a collection of words with a meaning that cannot be inferred from its component parts.
There is a sliding scale of opacity. Someone who speaks English as a second language might not realise what’s meant by the bee’s knees. Or what it is to lose your marbles; mum’s the word; make the fur fly; be carpeted; get the sack; or make a clean breast of it.
But they might be able to reason out the meaning of a slap on the wrist; pride and joy; runs in the family; breaks the ice; at a crossroads; and the elephant in the room.
As an aside, is it just me who thinks “elephant in the room” has become more common these days? I don’t recall hearing it when I was younger.
Anyway, getting back on track, there is another layer of complexity when an idiom needs specialised knowledge. I think “hoist by his own petard” requires you to know what a petard is; stalemate needs a little chess expertise; going under the hammer needs an understanding of auctions.
Then there are what I’d call “extreme” idioms in which the meanings of the individual words are miles removed from the meaning of the idiom: pretty kettle of fish; brass monkeys; hand over fist; and that butters no parsnips.
There are idioms that are just downright obscure: get a place in the Chiltern Hundreds; Jerusalem syndrome; dialogue of the deaf.
Most idioms, though, aren’t so complicated.
I find it fun to dream up simple but colourful idiomatic utterances. The golden boy with the silver spoon was a bit green, lacked grey matter and turned out to be yellow so we were in the pink when our black looks made him get the blues then see red.
Of course there are the inevitable ludicrous errors of spelling: he didn’t turn a hare; splitting image, breed the lion in his den; put him out of his miserly; berry heads in sand; laid bear; clothes fisted; old wives’ tails; and short shift.
It is both hilarious and annoying when people use an idiom that they clearly don’t know the correct meaning of. The way of all flesh doesn’t mean to get fat. Being led up the garden path isn’t an idyllic thing to do on a summer’s day. An ambulance chaser isn’t a drink.
And, at last, we get to the return of the prodigal son. I am wonderfully amused by the notion he is from County Prodigal in the south of Ireland.
Word of the week
Ergo (adverb)
For that reason; usually used to show a logical conclusion. EG: “I played in the Dundee Sunday Welfare League in the 1980s and ’90s, ergo, I am anticipating a big-money offer from a Saudi Arabian football club.”
Read the latest Oh my word! every Saturday in The Courier. Contact me at sfinan@dctmedia.co.uk
