The book of expressions “A Hog on Ice & Other Curious Expressions” by Charles Funk (available for a dollar at Abebooks.com) says the remark is used by another in a cutting manner when we deny that we ever wanted something that we find to be unattainable. Sour grapes are mentioned in the Bible in reference to the ancient proverb, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” However the expression and the current meaning come from Aesop’s fable about the fox that tried in vain to reach some delicious looking grapes. He reasoned the grapes were probably sour and inedible, so it was just as well that he hadn’t been able to reach them.
Author Archives: Advocate
Spy Catcher, The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer
This book by Peter Wright, former assistant director of England’s MI5, must not have been a best seller. I bought a hard cover copy at the Westminster, CO library for a dollar as part of their campaign to clear out books no one had been reading. The book chronicles the author’s quarter of a century in British intelligence. It is not an easy or fun book to read, because it contains so many details of people, organizations, and events. It is undoubtedly an excellent reference book for those reasons.
The book presents an astonishing contrast between the British and Soviet intelligence operations. Seldom is there mention of any Soviet secrets being collected by the British unless the Soviets wanted the British to know the secret. Practically every British secret of any importance was known by the Soviets, and Stalin often knew it before it had filtered through the British bureaucracy. The British were a bit similar to the Soviets in their freedom to use any means to gather intelligence. The author said it was made clear MI5 operated on the basis of the 11th Commandment, “Thou shalt not get caught.”
There are also astonishing indications that some events that were viewed as defeats for the Soviets based on the West learning their secret plans were in reality the outcome desired by the Soviets. The Cuban missile crisis is one example. Wright believed the Soviets intentionally allowed the United States to learn they had installed intermediate range missiles in Cuba to create the crises. Their purpose was to get an agreement from the United States to cease in the attempts to assassinate or overthrow Castro. The Soviets believed having a staunch ally just off the Keys from Florida was worth the perception the Americans had found their missiles and forced their removal. Continue reading
Dire Straits
Answers.com explains that this expression was believed to have originated in the 15th century to describe navigation of ships through straits where it “…took experience and a steady hand to make safe passage…” There are many straits where the passage is difficult and perilous, and an error results in shipwreck. The expression evolved to mean any difficult or perilous situation, according to Mr. Mark Frees, professor of naval history. There is apparently a London rock band that adopted the name, although I don’t know I would want to listen to a band named after an expression meaning difficult or perilous.
Kick the Can Down the Road
This is a combination commentary and expression description. The expression is being used frequently to describe what is going on with the budget, the deficit, and the lack of courage by politicians in not even mentioning the problem with entitlement spending. Politicians noticed what happened to George W. Bush when he was accused of “trying to privatize Social Security” after he proposed allowing younger people be allowed to voluntarily put one third of their Social Security “contributions” into a private retirement account. Everyone knows something needs to be done, and everyone is “kicking the can down the road.”
Obama’s Challenge, America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative President
The most remarkable aspect of the book by Robert Kutner (available new from Amazon for $1.96 at the link), and to the credit of the author, is that it was published well before the 2008 election. It was written with certainty that Mr. Obama was going to win. I agreed with that prediction, but wouldn’t have written a book depending on that outcome. The author writes of his admiration of Presidents Lincoln, FDR, and Johnson, and discusses how Mr. Obama could also become a transformative president. The roadmap presented is to solve the economic crisis by overcoming deregulation and reckless use of military power. I appreciated that he didn’t take the simple approach of blaming Bush for everything. In fact he writes, “Three decades of economic negligence by…elites…weakened the United States…” He even blames Clinton, saying that the economy thrived on his watch “…though some of the prosperity was built on unsustainable bubbles.”
The author presents his ideas of using Progressive approaches to governing, believing that regulation and government involvement results in a stronger economy. He also advocates that all workers should be unionized. I didn’t agree with any of that, but I do agree his assessment that senior citizens are reaping the benefits from Social Security and Medicare (apparently not considered Progressive government programs) at the detriment of the young and middle-aged. I was surprised that the book counseled Mr. Obama to go slow on implementing universal health care, and that he should put his early energies into the economy. Mr. Obama apparently did not read the book. Continue reading
Neck of the Woods
“Funtrivia.com” has a series of explanations about the origin of this idiom. “Neck” was used in English as early as 1555 to describe a narrow strip of land surrounded by water because it resembled the neck of an animal. Americans applied it to a narrow stand of woods or a settlement in the woods. In the heavily forested days of early America “neck of the woods” referred to your home and neighborhood.