Definition: to go to bed/ to go to sleep

Example: After a long day of taking care of his young niece and nephew, John was exhausted, and as soon as dinner was finished, he announced that he was going to hit the hay.

Origin:

Not surprisingly, ‘hit the hay’ is used in the same way as the idiom ‘hit the sack’. Both have been in common usage since the turn of the 20th century.

Many mattresses before modern times were little more than than linen or sacks stuffed with whatever material that was readily available. For many, that material was straw. Before getting into bed, people would strike the mattress to shape it into the most comfortable surface possible. There is some suggestion that the hitting of the mattress also helped to drive off any bugs also sheltering there.

Thus, ‘hit the hay’!

Iddy’s not getting much relaxation out of boxing with these hay-bales. In fact, they seem to be winning the fight.

Definition: Hurry up!

Example: “Get your skates on!” Martha yelled at her husband through the bathroom door. The airport was an hour’s drive away and their flight was leaving in forty-five minutes.

Origin:

More commonly used in the UK and Australia, this idiom simply refers to the fact that someone wearing ice skates can travel faster than somebody on foot (assuming that they have the required ice to skate on). It originally referred to ice skates, but during the Victorian era, it expanded to refer to roller-skates as they gained public popularity and the first rinks opened.

As a side note, skating is remarkably quicker. The top speed of a human being on foot is about 45 km/h  (That’s you, Mr Usain Bolt), but only for short sprints. The top sprint speed for a speed skater is close to 60 km/h. It’s over longer distances that the difference really begins to show. At 10 000m, the world record on skates is around 12 minutes 40 seconds. On foot it is around 26 minutes 18 seconds, more than twice the time.

This idiom is by request from Elaine who says that idioms are far too often taken literally in her family. So Iddy, you’re not alone!

Definition: A possession that is burdensome and costs more in terms of money or effort than it is worth. In British usage, it often specifically refers to a public project that has soaring costs with little perceived benefit.

Example: Rosie’s newly purchased Ferrari was a real white elephant. Sure, it looked great but the insurance was bankrupting her.

Origin:

Iddy can’t believe it. This is an idiom that has a definitive origin!

In ancient Siam (modern day Thailand), white elephants were not only rare, but considered sacred. The Kings of Siam elevated their status by keeping white elephants. If one of the kings’ acquaintances displeased  them, they were gifted one of the rare creatures. It may have seemed to be a great honour, but the cost of keeping the elephant and the duties required would soon bankrupt the individual.

The term came into the English language as early as the 1600’s but didn’t become common for another 200 years. There are claims that it gained popularity after PT Barnum, of Barnum and Bailey circus fame, spent great effort as well as plenty of cash to buy a white elephant from the then King of Siam, to discover that it really wasn’t white at all, just light grey.

The term also became associated with church sales during the 20th century, openly referred to as ‘white elephant sales’, where donors brought in their junk, like tacky ceramic figurines and mismatched plates, to be sold on for church fund-raising.

Definition: A strong, determined individual

Example: Dave fought off the motorcycle gang with nothing more than his bus pass and a copy of the New York Times. He was one tough cookie. 

Origin:

‘Tough cookie’ is predominantly an American phrase. You are unlikely to hear any self-respecting Brit using the term.

Iddy thinks this is one of the most ridiculous things he has heard so far. Why compare somebody hard, whether physically or mentally, to a cookie? Cookies are inherently sweet. Cookies are usually brittle. Cookies are the stuff of life itself.

Maybe there’s a clue in the word itself. ‘Cookie’ is a North American term. In the UK, cookies are called biscuits. No self-respecting Brit is ever going to ask for a cookie at a bakery.

The word itself is derived from the Dutch ‘koekje’, or ‘little cake’, and probably entered American English with Dutch settlers. Still no connection to being tough, unless those original Dutch settlers over-baked their koekjes.

In the 1920s, ‘cookie‘ became a slang term for a young woman. Just watch any old gangster movie about Prohibition. It will probably feature a ‘cookie‘ in it somewhere. The term does make some sort of sense, in that the young woman is sweet and desirable.

The first appearance of the now standard ‘tough cookie‘ is just after the end of World War II, but how the ‘tough’ became welded to the baked good is unknown. Also unclear is how the term then came to describe both sexes when it had previously been only applied to women.

So, no explanations from Iddy. And he still thinks it’s ridiculous.

Definition: Something very easy to do

Example: After six months of weight training, a dozen all-you-can-eat buffets, and a two day fast, winning the pie eating contest was a piece of cake for Bradley.

Origin:

It is thought that this phrase may have come from contests, popular in the 1870s, where a cake was the prize. Not cash. Not cruise tickets. A cake.

A second, darker theory, is that it originates from a humiliating tradition that occurred in slave states. Pairs of slaves were made to circle a cake, and the most ‘graceful’ pair would win the baked goods. Iddy’s not sure how the heck that particular tradition came to be and he doesn’t really want to know either.

In all likelihood, it may have come to be simply from the fact that eating a piece of cake is probably one of the easiest, most joyful things most people can do.

Iddy doesn’t care about any of it. He just wants to eat that chunk of sugary delight. And the heck with the calories.

Definition: To begin before everything is ready.

Example: Joe realised too late that he had jumped the gun trying out his newly assembled bike at the store. The mechanic hadn’t put the seat on yet. The store was very good about the whole situation though. They offered to call him an ambulance.

Origin:

Exported around the English speaking world from the United States, jump the gun dates back to the 1830s. It has its roots in track and field sporting events, referring to somebody starting the race before the starter’s pistol has been fired. Blindingly obvious once pointed out, isn’t it? It was frequently quoted as ‘beat the gun’ as well, though that usage seems to have died out.

Definition: To lose your temper

Example: Ruby was going to blow her top when she saw the muddy footprints on her brand new rug.

Origin:

Blowing your top. Iddy’s an expert at this one.

There are similar idioms, meaning the same thing. Not only can you blow your top, you can also blow your stack or your lid.

All of these phrases probably date to the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1800s and the widespread use of steam power. Steam, unless carefully controlled and monitored, can build up great pressure very quickly, exploding out of the weakest point. Blowing your stack is very much related to this threat, as a smokestack would be a weak point.

A similar pressure threat exists with oil wells as well, and some sources argue that the idiom comes from that process instead.

Whatever the case, the phrase is a very visual one and reminds us all of Saturday Morning cartoons where  steam jets out of a character’s ears. If only Iddy was so lucky to have blown steam from just his ears. He’s gone and lost the top of his skull. Its going to take him hours to find that thing.

Definition: An extremely attractive/sexy woman, specifically a blonde one

Example: Distracted by the blonde bombshell stepping out of the salon, Joe ran his new car straight into a telephone pole.

Origin:

The ‘bombshell’ part of the idiom has been used to describe  attractive women since the mid-nineteenth century. The reason why is unclear. The ‘blonde’ bit is easier to quantify. In 1933, actress Jean Harlow became the blonde bit. Her movie ‘Bombshell’ was released in the US, but the title was changed to ‘Blonde Bombshell’ for the UK release as audiences were mistaking it for a war movie. It was accompanied by racy taglines like ‘Lovely, luscious, exotic Jean Harlow as the Blonde Bombshell of filmdom’. With a tagline like that, no wonder the phrase stuck.

Incidentally, Harlow was also referred to as the ‘platinum blonde‘, a title awarded to her by Howard Hughes’ publicity department. They had tried other titles that weren’t quite so hot. The blonde landslide. The darling cyclone. Platinum blonde is infinitely better than either of those.

She died of kidney failure at the age of just 26. Some claim her death was hastened by her weekly use of chemicals like peroxide to keep her hair that famous colour.

Definition: To sit in the front passenger seat

Example: John wanted to ride shotgun as his elderly Aunts were sitting in the back and they smelled of wee.

 Origin:

It’s a term from the Wild West, isn’t it? Everybody knows that.

Well, yes and no.

There were indeed stagecoaches criss-crossing the American southwest during the nineteenth century. And sometimes, there were indeed shotgun toting men riding alongside the driver to protect whatever they were carrying. All true.

The problem is that the phrase doesn’t seem to have been used at all at the time. In all likelihood, it was a Hollywood invention used in the hundreds of Westerns pumped out by the studios, culminating in one simply called ‘Riding Shotgun’ in 1954 (starring Randolph Scott and a very young Charles Bronson).

The phrase can still be used in the sense of literally riding along as protection, either as a bodyguard, or as armed security in armoured vans. More commonly, it is used in the harmless sense of riding beside the driver on a car journey, often claimed on the way to the car with the cry of “I call shotgun!”