Ever wonder why we say clocks go tick tock and not tock tick?Or why the music genre is called hip hop and not hop hip? If you ask most English speakers for a reason, they’ll likely respond it just sounds better that way. That may be true, but it turns out there is an actual…
“Never look a gift horse in the mouth.” On a recent video conference call, a speaker used the gift horse idiom, much to the confusion of many of the attendees. For those who may not be familiar with the expression, it suggests people should not find fault with something that has been received as a…
The phrase ‘your ears must be burning’ tells someone you were talking about them when they were not around. But where did the phrase come from? It appears to goes back to Roman times. In Naturalis Historia, the 37-volume encyclopedia of fact, myth, and speculation, Pliny writes: Those absent are warned by a ringing of…
Q: What do you call a group of sharks?A: A shiver of sharks. Of course, because seeing Sharks make you shiver. Shiver is an example of a collective noun; the name for a group of things. As I’ve often used animal stories to help illustrate specific points, reinforce behaviors, or to provide colorful rallying cries,…
Ever wonder where the phrase ‘right as rain’ comes from? In English the phrase implies that everything is satisfactory, usually applied to good health. The phrase is often used as a contrast: He was quite ill last week but he’s right as rain now. Like many common English phrases, its origin isn’t clear. It was…
The phrase ‘it is what it is’ has exploded in popularity. I might not have noticed except it’s a phrase my Mom has been using my whole life; I may be overly-sensitized to it. I first noticed a surge in popularity towards the beginning of the US pandemic-related shutdown when it became a popular meme….
The phrase “bring home the bacon” is commonly understood to mean to earn money. But where did the phrase come from? The answer might be surprising. Most on-line sources claim the phrase originated in 1104 in a small town in Essex, England. A local Lord and his wife dressed themselves as common folk and asked…
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. This commonly-used phrase reminds us that, no matter how far away a deadline is, we always seem to be rushed to complete the task. Some even cite it as evidence that setting impossibly short deadlines is good for efficiency. While most of us are…
The English word upset has multiple definitions. The most common implies an anxious uneasiness; as in “I am too upset to say anything.” This emotional version also has a physical equivalent; “My stomach is too upset to eat anything.” In sports and in politics, an upset is to defeat a seemingly better opponent. My favorite…
On a recent transcontinental flight, I found myself writing the phrase “less is more” in response to a 60 page PowerPoint I had been asked to review. Although the origin is unclear, the phrase “less is more” is often associated with Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, one of the founders of modern architecture and a proponent…