Posts filed under 'idiom'
August 27th, 2009
As a verb, “ape” means “to imitate or mimic” — along the lines of “monkey see, monkey do.”
The word, for “any gibbon or great ape” or “loosely, any Old or New World monkey,” comes from the Old English “apa,” which is of Germanic origin.
As applied to people, “ape” the noun also can be someone “who is uncouth, gross, clumsy, etc.”
To “go ape” is slang for “to become mad” or “to become wildly enthusiastic.”
And “apish,” in addition to “like an ape,” can mean “imitative in an unreasoning way” or “silly, affected, mischievous, etc.”
However, an “apiary” is not a monkey house, it’s a beehive. That “api-” comes from the Latin for bee, “apis.”
If you go monkeying with an apiary, you’re likely to get stung.
August 6th, 2009
You probably have heard of “homing pigeons” and “homing devices.” Try to think of them the next time you’re trying to decide whether the correct phrase is “home in on” or “hone in on.” (It’s the former.)
The verb “hone” means “to sharpen.” It comes from the Old English “han” for “stone” — in this case, a whetstone.
You can use “honing” for literally sharpening, as with such a stone, or figuratively, as in “honing your skills.”
But the phrase for guiding or being guided to a destination or target is “homing (in) on.”
Home is where we want to go.
June 11th, 2009
A common problem in English is a verb hooked up with the wrong preposition. Less common but by no means rare is a verb carrying a preposition as excess baggage.
For example, “continue on,” “admit to” and “divide up.”
In “The negotiators decided to adjourn for the night and continue on in the morning,” delete “on.”
In “Spanky finally admitted to taking the cookies,” delete “to.”
In “Smith’s accomplices insisted they divide up the money first,” delete “up.”
However, these are not “search-and-replace” usages. For example, the prepositions should stay in the following:
“We’ll surely get lost if we continue on this road.”
“Spanky admitted to me that he took the cookies.”
“Let’s split the money before we divide up and split.”
And now my head is splitting.
May 25th, 2009
One of the major sources of idiomatic expressions in English is the combination of a verb and a preposition. For example, pairing the verb “sign” with different prepositions yields different meanings: sign away, sign in, sign out, sign on, sign off, sign up.
The words in such verb phrases are kept separate so objects, when needed, can fit in between them: sign your life away, sign me up.
When such phrases become nouns or adjectives, the first step in such an evolution is to insert a hyphen:
“What’s your sign-on?”
” ‘Good night and good luck’ was his signature sign-off.”
“The sign-up period for that class ends Friday.”
Eventually, some such nouns and adjectives lose the hyphen and become one word. So far, that hasn’t happened with the “sign” words.
So, the noun meaning “registration” is still “sign-up,” hyphenated.
These things do make a difference. Notice the change in meaning in “a protester holding a sign up” and “a preschool holding a sign-up.”
Time to sign off for today.
March 18th, 2009
Yes, most of us have two eyes, and we use both of them to see things. But when it comes to idiom, sometimes only one eye will work.
For example, the phrase “whatever catches my eyes” is logical, but it’s improper idiom. In fact, it could even border on the grotesque.
Among the idiomatic expressions using the single-eye approach, in addition to “catch someone’s eye,” are the slang “give someone the eye” and “in a pig’s eye,” and the not slang “have an eye for,” “in the eye of the wind,” “in the public eye,” “keep an eye on (or out for),” “run one’s eye over” and “with an eye to.”
Of course, both eyes can get into the act as well: “feast one’s eyes on,” “keep one’s eyes open (or peeled or skinned),” “lay (or set or clap) eyes on,” “make eyes at,” “open someone’s eyes” and “shut one’s eyes to,” and the informal “have eyes for.”
If you’re going to use idiom, you need to have an ear for it.
March 12th, 2009
I’ve been seeing this type of phrase a lot recently, especially in business stories: “the highest on records dating to 1994.”
The word should be “record,” singular, not plural.
I realize that logic says there are many records. But idiom says the phrase is “highest on record,” which takes into account all of the records.
January 13th, 2009
There are four separate “keels” in the dictionary, but the only one most of us will ever use is the one that’s part of a watercraft or airship. It’s the main piece that runs along the bottom of a vessel and provides support for the frame.
From the capsizing of a ship we get the phrase “keel over,” which can apply to other things that “turn over or upside down.” Even people have been known to keel over — “to fall over suddenly, as in a faint.”
The nautical keel is also the inspiration for the verb “keelhaul,” meaning “to scold or rebuke harshly.” For harshness, though, it’s tough to beat the original “keelhaul,” which was a form of punishment and torture for sailors that involved dragging them the length of a ship underwater. (I never cease to be amazed at what people are capable of doing to their fellow human beings.)
Finally, we have the phrase “on an even keel,” which I encountered recently in the sense of “on a level playing field” — which isn’t what it means. That’s a different kind of level.
To be “on an even keel” means either “steady, stable, etc.” or “in or keeping an upright, level position” — in other words, not keeling over.
January 10th, 2009
The correct informal phrase for “to meet the requirements” is “fill the bill,” NOT “fit the bill.”
The latter may seem the logical choice, because we’re talking about something that’s a good fit. But the correct verb is “fill.”
Other idiomatic uses of “fill” include “fill up”; the informal “fill someone in on”; and “fill out,” which can apply to making something larger, rounder and so forth or to filling in the blanks on a form.
But that doesn’t mean “fit” is left out. Included in its resume are “by fits and starts” (”in an irregular way”) and the informal trio “fit to be tied” (”frustrated and angry”), “fit to kill” (”excessively, immoderately, strikingly or showily”) and “have (or throw) a fit” (”to become very angry or upset”).
In each of those cases, “fit” fills the bill.
January 1st, 2009
A “role” is a part to be played, maybe by a role model.
For all other uses, you need the homonym “roll.”
Those include “crescent roll,” “egg roll,” “jellyroll,” “rock and roll,” “roll bar,” “roll call,” “roller coaster,” “roller derby,” “rolling pin,” “roll-on,” “roll-top,” even “Rolls-Royce.”
We “roll our eyes,” “roll out the barrel,” “get on a roll,” “roll with the punches,” “roll back,” “roll in,” “roll out,” “roll over,” “roll up” and “merrily we roll along.”
And that concludes my blogging role for today. Happy New Year!
November 7th, 2008
Much of our idiom springs from combining verbs with different prepositions to mean different things. For example, notice how “talk out” differs from “talk out of.”
A subtle one that’s often misused is “connect to.” Traditionally, “connect to” is for actual physical hookups, as with wiring or pipes: “The developer promised the subdivision would be connected to the sewer system soon.”
For hooking up with people, groups or ideas, use “connect with”: “They say he’s connected with the mob.”
If you have connections, they’re probably the “with” kind, unless you’re connected to some type of medical device. Of course, in that case, you have more important issues to deal with.
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