Marionettes controlled by strings were popular in the courts of the French monarchy. When someone offered a bribe to the puppeteer to influence the performance, they were said to be “…pulling the strings of the puppeteer.” The use of behind the scenes influence is therefore called “pulling strings.”
Category Archives: Expressions
In Cold Blood
World Wide Words explains that this expression defines the difference between someone who acts in the heat of passion and “hot blood” compared to “…a person whose blood is cold or cool, and therefore detached or uninvolved,” and therefore acts in cold blood.The term was first recorded in 1711.
Big Shot
Charles Earle Funk, author of the book “A Hog on Ice & Other Curious Expressions,” explains that the expression refers to a person of importance. This slang is a recent, but it evolved from the nineteenth century term “a big gun.” That term resulted from the union of “a great gun” and a “big bug.”
So Far, So Good
| Being an engineer, I’m familiar with problems and hate to tempt fate by saying something is going well. “So far, so good” is therefore one of my favorite clichés.On Stackexchange I learned there is an archaic meaning of “so” that means “in this manner/condition.”
FreeDictionary says the idiom was first recorded in James Kelly’s Scottish Proverbs (1721), where it is defined: “So far, so good. So much is done to good purpose.” The title of the book implies the phrase was already well known. Etymonline offers a detailed etymology of “so” and agrees with the 1721 reference. So it seems Kelly was the first to write the phrase down and publish it. |
Get Your Act Together
A woman from Japan was telling a friend about her trip to the United States. The woman had visited major businesses and investment companies in New York City and Chicago.
I studied English before I left home,” she said. “But I still was not sure that people were speaking English.”
She was puzzled by “get your act together” which means to get organized. In business, it usually means to develop a calm and orderly plan of action.
Learning English says the expression probably came from the theater or movie industry and was common by the late nineteen seventies.
The Kirkpatrick’s book Cliches: Over 1500 Phrases Explored and Explained agrees and offers no specific source.
I found variations on the phrase, some more scatological, but no source.
People – when you invent phrases, please make notes.
The Proof of the Pudding
The Phrase Finder explains that the longer version “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” makes more sense and that the often quoted “proof is in the pudding” makes no sense. It means “To fully test something you need to experience it yourself.” The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations dates it to the 14th century. The first written example located was dated 1605 and was “All the proof of a pudding is in the eating.” It is speculated that “pudding” in the original usage was what we would call sausage today.