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Readers: It’s bad enough that people use clichés. Sometimes they have no clue what they’re saying. They certainly don’t know the phrase’s origin. Some clichés are anachronisms, which we covered in previous segments. Some have obvious origins. Others, not so much.
1. Hue and Cry. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, it can be traced to the Old French words hue, meaning "outcry" or "noise," and cri, meaning "cry."
2. Rank and File. According to Dictionary.com, “This phrase comes from military usage, where enlisted men march in ranks (close abreast) and files (one behind another), whereas officers march outside these formations.”
3. Right wing/Left wing. According to History.com, in the events leading up the French Revolution, “anti-royalist revolutionaries seated themselves to the presiding officer’s left, while the more conservative, aristocratic supporters of the monarchy gathered to the right.”
4. Win hands down. According to MentalFloss.com, in horse racing, “if you’re way ahead of everyone else, you can relax your grip on the reins and let your hands down.”
University of North Texas
5. Over the transom. You might hear a writer say he wasn’t optimistic about an agent reading his manuscript because he sent it cold. He'll say he submitted it “over the transom.” In the days before air conditioning, this was a small window that remained open for ventilation even when an office was locked up for the day. The idea was that a publisher — or agent — would find the thing when he/she opened for the morning. And good luck with that.
6. Loose cannon. According to The Phrase Finder, on warships, a cannon that broke free on deck was a double threat: firing a shot into the crew or running someone over.
U.S. Navy
7. Fly off the handle. According to Reader’s Digest, the heads of poorly made axe heads sometimes flew off in use, leading to a phrase that describes dangerous behavior with unpredictable results.
National Hardwood Lumber Association
8. Knock on wood. This expression for luck, usually said after a wishful statement, is believed to stem from any of a number of tales about trees holding spirits that would grant wishes, or evil spirits who could block wishes unless confronted. Some Christians link it to the wood of the cross of Crucifixion.
9. Without further ado. What’s ado? According to Grammarist.com, it’s a contraction of “at do,” a “Middle English term meaning trouble, fighting or conflict. In time the word ado came to mean a fuss, hubbub, or trivial chaos.” Remember Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing? OK. So why the heck do emcees, before introducing someone, say, “Without further hubbub?”
10. Phone it in. Mail it in. Most people probably could figure this out if they thought about it. You’re communicating by phone or mail because you’re too lazy to come down in person. It’s become a metaphor for making the most minimal effort.
Watch this on video! https://youtu.be/aMkitBA7YTE
Next time: Back to school.
Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we properly can credit you. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com
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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!