Definition: To be overjoyed.

Example: When Beryl heard that her ex-husband had fallen down the stairs, she was over the moon.

Origin:

Used more commonly in the UK, ‘over the moon’ is most likely to have been lifted from “Hey Diddle Diddle”. You know the one. That nursery rhyme where that cow famously jumped over the moon. First seen in print in 1760, the rhyme was probably common in popular culture for a century or more prior to this. In fact, the phrase ‘I shall jump over the moon for joy!” appears in another book “The Coquet” in 1718.

The phrase really gained popularity in the 1970’s as a common exclamation during football commentary. This use was further boosted by the satirical magazine Private Eye, which published outlandish quotes from the footballing world, cementing it in everyday speech.

Definition: Having something more important to do

Example: Roger ignored the fact that his socks were mismatched. He had bigger fish to fry. Like the fact that he couldn’t find his trousers.

Origin:

Bigger fish to fry is interchangeable with the often used other fish to fry, and has been in common usage for about 400 years. Why fish are involved is a mystery lost to time.

In German, Spanish, and Italian, there are similar phrases. They simply translate to ‘having other things to do’. The French, not content with cooking sea creatures, have ‘ many other dogs to whip’.

Iddy thought frying fish was odious enough, but whipping dogs? Even he draws the line somewhere!

Definition: A stingy, miserly person.

Example: Norbert was such a penny-pincher, he charged his houseguests a fee to visit the toilet.

alternatively can be used as a verb: ‘penny pinching’

Origin:

Not much is known of penny pincher’s roots, though it appears to have started in America in the mid-nineteenth century. It was probably from the simple imagery of somebody clutching a penny between their thumb and forefinger as they removed it from a coin purse.

Iddy would like to take the opportunity to address a related slur, that the Scottish are penny-pinchers. How did this misnomer come about? Iddy’s own experiences are quite the opposite. In fact, his first hangover was the direct result of a Scotsman insisting on buying him beers in an Edinburgh pub.

It’s all the fault of religion. No, not the drinking. The Scottish slur.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the Church of Scotland fractured into several smaller churches. This left many of them without wealthy patrons or landowners, and funding their costs became problematic. A difficult decision had to be made to ensure these churches’ survival. The parishioners would have to pay when they came to service. To enforce this, someone would be stationed at the entrance to collect. No payment. No entry. Visiting Church of England worshippers were scandalised. Church of Englanders apparently have long memories.

The stereotype still sticks to the unfortunate Scots today.

Definition: A very, very long time.

Example: Surveying the damage after the party, Martin realised it would take a month of Sundays to get it all cleared up, especially that stuffed moose head stuck in the toilet.

Origin:

To dig deeper into the origin of this idiom, we need to define its meaning mathematically. A Month of Sundays is not just a very, very long time. It the calendar period it would take to rack up 30 or 31 Sundays, namely 30 or 31 weeks.

The phrase first appears in print in 1759, during a time when the Sabbath was observed much more closely then than it is today. Not only was it a day of rest as it is still considered to be in Christian societies now, it was strictly enforced. You were not meant to work, you were required to attend church, give thanks, and not allowed to indulge in any pleasures. Puritanical societies considered music, drinking, feasting, dancing, and almost any other activity out of bounds on the Sabbath.

Iddy thinks the portrait of Whistler’s mother, painted a hundred years later, probably sums up Sundays under those conditions. Dress in black. Frown. Sit quietly and stare at the wall. Make sure you are sitting in a normal chair, not a rocker. Rocking on a Sunday would be too much like fun.

Sundays would be very boring indeed. A month of Sundays would be interminably long.

Co-incidentally, those 30 weeks are about the same length as a typical pregnancy. Iddy wonders if there’s a connection. I think most mothers would agree those nine months feel very long indeed!

Iddy’s mother doesn’t agree. Iddy was a bit slow. He took a year and a half to make his appearance. That’s two months of Sundays.

Definition: To die.

Example: Just before James was to collect the five dollars that Noddy owed him, Noddy kicked the bucket, ensuring that James was never going to see that money again. Some people have no respect.

Origin:

The first written usage of this charming but deadly idiom was in 1785, but its origins are a bit muddied to say the least. There are at least three common explanations.

• The first and most popular story claims that it has to do with death by hanging, either by suicide or execution. The hapless victim, having climbed onto a bucket to put their head in the noose, would literally ‘kick the bucket’ in their death throes. It does seem a bit far-fetched that a bucket was such a common device in hangings.
• The second theory uses a bit of linguistic history. Trebuchet is a French word meaning a balance (also a medieval weapon that utilises the properties of tension and balance). The English language commandeered the word and shortened it to ‘bucket’, meaning a beam or yoke, though this usage of the word is rarely used today. It is theorised that the ‘bucket’ in our idiom is the beam that pigs and other farm animals were hung from as they were slaughtered. They too ‘kicked the bucket’ during their struggles. Another lovely image for you there.
• Thirdly, some say it refers to an old Catholic custom of leaving a bucket of holy water at the feet of the recently deceased.  Friends and relatives could sprinkle it on the dearly departed when they paid their respects. Iddy’s not sure there’s much kicking happening in this explanation.