Whatzat mean? Word origins.

[homoe]

Nip It In The Bud............


To stop, cease, or prevent something at the beginning or early phase, before it becomes too difficult or unmanageable.

Origin: This phrase derives from the de-budding of plants. The earlier form of the phrase was 'nip in the bloom' and this is cited in Henry Chettle's romance Piers Plainnes Seaven Yeres Prentiship, 1595.

[homoe]

The Jig's Up..............


The plan or scheme has been discovered and/or thwarted; the game, trick, or deception is at an end.

[homoe]

Three-ring Circus...............

A public spectacle, especially one with little substance. A chaotic situation, often one in which a lot of activity is occurring simultaneously.

[homoe]

Sour Grapes.......

Something that one cannot have and so disparages as if it were never desirable. If you describe someone's attitude as sour grapes, you mean that they are jealous of another person's success and show this jealousy by criticizing that person.

Origin: This expression alludes to the Greek writer Aesop's famous fable about a fox that cannot reach some grapes on a high vine and announces that they are sour. In English the fable was first recorded in William Caxton's 1484 translation, "The fox said these raisins be sour."

[cathexis]

Fixing (fittin, fixen) verb

Primarily used in the South, a regional dialect. Fixing popularly means getting ready to. An example would be, " I'm fixing to go to the store." It doesn't indicate any time or urgency in keeping with the more leisurely pace of the traditional South.

This word's etymology is truly American or as it is called, "an Americanism."

Webster - paraphrasing defines it as to prepare or to set/place in the manner most desired.

Farmer, John "Americanisms - Old and New, "called fix the hardest worked word in the 'American language.'" Farmer also notes that fixed could mean ready.

OED - defines fixing as making preparations for in def. 14a and 14b.

[homoe]

If You Play Your Cards Right.........

To act adeptly and with good judgment; to make the best and most effective use of the resources at one's disposal. To work or negotiate correctly and skillfully in order to receive an desired effect.

Origin: Not positive but I would think it comes from the actual game of card playing and winning if you play the cards you've been given correctly.

[homoe]

Originally Posted by cathexis

Fixing (fittin, fixen) verb

Primarily used in the South, a regional dialect. Fixing popularly means getting ready to. An example would be, " I'm fixing to go to the store." It doesn't indicate any time or urgency in keeping with the more leisurely pace of the traditional South.

This word's etymology is truly American or as it is called, "an Americanism."

Webster - paraphrasing defines it as to prepare or to set/place in the manner most desired.

Farmer, John "Americanisms - Old and New, "called fix the hardest worked word in the 'American language.'" Farmer also notes that fixed could mean ready.

OED - defines fixing as making preparations for in def. 14a and 14b.

I think a lot of idioms or expressions are regional! When I moved to Milwaukee, people would constantly say they were "going to go by" either someplace or someone which I soon found out meant they were actually going to that place of person NOT just going or driving by...

[cathexis]

Originally Posted by homoe

I think a lot of idioms or expressions are regional! When I moved to Milwaukee, people would constantly say they were "going to go by" either someplace or someone which I soon found out meant they were actually going to that place of person NOT just going or driving by...

In New Orleans it's "pass by." If a tourist hears that they get confused. They get the impression that you are going to walk or drive by their house when you are going to visit with the person. Another example of time being more fluid in the South. Growing up as the daughter of a true Southern lady, being up here in NY is a BIG adjustment. People seem to always be in a hurry no matter the reason. Once I got left behind by my Partner's family who were going to a town just to look around; because, I did not have my coat and boots on when my sister in law arrived.

[homoe]

Piss Poor / Doesn't Have A Pot To Piss In Nor A Window To Throw It Out Of...

A very poor person!

Origin: They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot. Once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive, you were 'piss poor.' But worse than that were the really poor folks, who couldn't even afford to buy a pot.

In medieval London, people did not have indoor plumbing. It was common to use a chamber pot as an indoor toilet. The chamber pot could then be dumped out a window into the street gutter below. A person who did not have a pot to piss in was poor indeed.

[homoe]

Green With Envy..............

The phrase ‘Green with Envy’ means to be very jealous, or envious of what someone has.

Origin: Before Shakespeare’s days, a pale (green) complexion was associated with fear, illness, and poor humor. The origin of the idiom 'green with envy' is believed to come directly from the great William Shakespeare himself.

[homoe]

Green Eyed-Monster...........

Jealousy personified.


Origin: The phrase comes from the Shakespeare play Othello. In Othello, Iago warns Othello: “Beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”

[homoe]

How Do You Like Them Apples..........


A phrase used to draw attention to one's cleverness or superiority to the one being addressed, especially after a recent triumph.

Origin: I cannot find an authoritative source, but various sites on the web have it that the original "apple" was a mortar-fired bomb used during WW I.

[homoe]

Thin-skinned........


Sensitive to criticism or insults, easily bothered by criticism or insults : very sensitive.

[homoe]

Smitten...........

Uncontrollable happiness when thinking about or in the presence of a special person.

[homoe]

Bury The Hatchet.........

To settle your differences with an adversary.

Origin: The figurative expression 'burying the hatchet' did originate as an American Indian tradition. Hatchets were buried by the chiefs of tribes when they came to a peace agreement. The phrase is recorded from the 17th century in English but the practice it refers to is much earlier, possibly pre-dating the European settlement of America. A translation of Thwaites' monumental work Jesuit Relations, 1644, suggests the practice.

[homoe]

A Shot In The Dark.....................

A attempt to guess something when you have no information or knowledge about the subject and therefore cannot possibly know what the answer is. A wild guess.

[homoe]

A Shoulder To Cry On.....................


Someone who is willing to listen to your problems and give you sympathy, emotional support, and encouragement.

[homoe]

A Chip On Their Shoulder............

To have a chip on one's shoulder refers to the act of holding a grudge or grievance that readily provokes disputation. They feel that they have been wronged by the world, so is always ready for a fight: easily offended because they feels that they have been treated unfairly by others, or perhaps feels inferior.

Origin: Comes from the days when there was a formal declaration for a fight. When a person disagreed strongly with someone over a personal belief, they would place a chip of wood on their shoulder and dare the other to knock it off. Once the other person did this, it signaled the beginning of the fight and thus punches were thrown. Examples of this can be seen in old British movies circa 1930-1950's.

[homoe]

You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar....

Flies represents anything you want to achieve. Honey (sweet) represents anything pleasant that you do to get what you want. Vinegar (sour) represents anything unpleasant that you do to get what you want. It suggests using nice methods rather than unkind methods yields better results.

[homoe]

No Skin Off My Nose....................


If someone says it's no skin off my nose they mean they are not worried about something because it only affects or harms other people or because it is not their responsibility and has no affect on them personally.