Adages and Idioms By Linda Stowe
As far as I know, there has never been a Bureau of Idioms, Adages, and Common Sayings. I find it hard to picture some bureaucrat sitting at a desk going over lines of script to ensure that there are no mistakes, and no one tries to cheat. All that time spent making sure there is only one bad apple per barrel, that all the wheat is separated from the chaff, and that no one cries over spilt water.
There is no authority over these maxims, yet we all understand them. We know that Walmart doesn’t really expect us to pay with an arm and a leg, and we know that although it may feel like it our heart is not really broken when someone jilts us. How do we come to understand this?
And, also, what do some of the new maxims say about us? The old ones contain gentle warnings or descriptions. They indicate a concern for the common good. What has our generation contributed to this canon of wisdom? Not much it seems. Will we be remembered in history for sayings like: “Who let the dogs out?” “Where’s the beef?” “You can’t handle the truth.”
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Polly here.
Idioms began as expressions based on everyday life. They were vivid. They were also relatable to the times. And then. Somehow, they stuck around as a form of figurative language.
We pass these sayings down through the generations. They reflect a culture and its time. The humor, the struggles, and the wisdom.
Many times their literal origins are forgotten, even though we use these words in our current everyday goings of things.
Bite the bullet. To endure something painful. We’ve all done this without biting an actual bullet.
By the skin of your teeth. To barely make it. I don’t know about you, but my teeth don’t have any skin. Blech.
Hit the hay. To go to sleep. And yet? We have that good hay in our barn. And straw. But I don’t rest on any of these things, I assure you.
And now?
It seems. The writing is on the wall.
Read ’em and weep.
Or better yet. Have a ball.
