One thing that I find interesting is that people use common expressions to illustrate their discussions. They don’t think much about the expression as it is just something that everyone knows what is meant. I know that you can look on the internet and find a reason behind the development of an expression. I think that is a cop out myself. I would rather imagine something about the story behind an expression from my own head bone – even if it isn’t correct.
As an example, a neighbor was telling me about a friend of his who had developed a problem, but he was still “happy as a clam.”Now think about that, why should a clam be happy? It is true that I do not know many clams, but the ones I have met were being eaten. That does not seem to fit in with an expression of happiness. Perhaps, there is something in ocean water after you have lived in it for some time that makes you happy no matter what. It could be, but if so I would suspect that a Mexican cartel would be selling aged condensed ocean water to those seeking a high.
Then, there is the ever popular comment that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” What good is one bird going to do you – unless it is a turkey? However, you have to remember that the above expression started in Europe and they didn’t have turkeys there! True, they did have quail or pheasants, so perhaps the mystery could end there. Personally, I don’t think so. It probably relates more to the “four and twenty blackbirds” baked in a pie for the king. Can you believe how many blackbirds you have to shake out of bushes so that you can get them in your hand one at a time?
Considering the above, I do have to wonder about the king who was involved. I am positive that it was not King Arthur as he would have had more sense than to eat a pie with a bunch of birds in it. He would probably have chased after the cook swinging his mighty sword, Excalibur until Guinevere calmed him down – which she could do until he found out about Lancelot. If there was a king involved I figure that it was my favorite English King – Ethelred the Unready! He most likely stuck his fork in whatever was set before him.
One of my least liked well known expressions is when someone says, “Barry, speak of the devil” what are you doing here? Probably I was just moseying along minding my own business when I suddenly find myself being compared to the devil. Then to “add insult to injury,” I notice the people he was talking to shaking their heads in agreement. Thoughts drifted through my head as I tried to figure out as to which devil I am being compared. Eventually, my self-protection mode swung into high gear, and I realize that they are speaking of the lovable Tasmanian Devil who appears in cartoons, and I am “happy as a clam.”
On the other hand, perhaps they inadvertently let the “cat out of the bag,” and they were comparing me to another devil. That expression by the way goes back to ancient Egypt where cats were worshipped. One of the pharaohs before he died told his wife to put their cat in a bag when he passed on and put it in the pyramid with him. She complied but as she was putting the cat in the tomb, it jumped out, startled her and she fell down a hole in the pyramid and was never seen again. Now that is the real reason why you should never “let the cat out of the bag.”
I will close by reminding everyone that there is no charge for these historical facts. I trust that we “see eye to eye” on this.
Barry Evans writes about Life in The Villages for Villages-News.com
