Where did the phrase “keep it under your hat” come from?

The phrase “keep it under your hat” means to keep a secret, meaning keep the information in your head, not on your lips.

An early example is found in P. G. Wodehouse’s Inimitable Jeeves, written in 1923:

“It made such a hit with her when she found that I loved her for herself alone, despite her humble station, that she kept it under her hat. She meant to spring it on me later.”

Entire citation can be found at www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/under-your-hat.html

Phrase for the Week…a bird in the hand

It’s entertaining to find out how some of these common phrases have come into being. For example: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, means that it’s better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater one that may come to nothing.

According to the “phrase a week” website, this proverb refers back to medieval falconry where a bird in the hand (the falcon) was a valuable asset and certainly worth more than two in the bush (the prey).

The first citation of the expression in print in its currently used form is found in John Ray’s “A Hand-book of Proverbs” (1670), in which he lists it as:

A [also 'one'] bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

For more insight, read the entire entry at: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/a-bird-in-the-hand.html

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Good’ay- Aussie Slang

I’ve been watching this old Australian TV show called “McLeod’s Daughters” and they use a lot of slang, so I’ve come up with a quick reference guide, in case any of you visit “down under”……….

get stuffed- get screwed
OY!- hello
prezzies- presents
mozzies- mosquitoes
ambo, ambos- ambulances, ambulance drivers
B&S Ball- Bachelors’ and Spinsters’ Ball – a very enjoyable party usually held in rural areas
barbie- BBQ
brekkie- breakfast
Pig’s arse!-I don’t agree with you
pom- an Englishman
ponce- a pimp, an effeminate man
porkie- a lie
rack off- get lost!
swag- rolled up bedding
wobbly- excitable behavior

fun, eh?

BTW, not one of the characters has ever said “good’ay” for good day!

Let’s not mince words here…

Weasel Words…ambiguous or quibbling speech

The expression refers to words that are added to make a statement sound more legitimate and impressive but which are in fact unsubstantiated and meaningless. Examples of weasel words are ‘people say that…’, ‘studies show that…’, ‘up to 50% or more…’.

It has long been a widespread belief that weasels suck the yolks from bird’s eggs, leaving only the empty shell. This belief is the basis of the term ‘weasel words’, used to describe statements that have had the life sucked out of them.

Whether or not they actually suck eggs, Shakespeare and his contemporaries believed they did. The Bard didn’t coin the expression ‘weasel words’, but he came very close, when he made two references to the supposed habits of weasels:

The weazel Scot Comes sneaking, and so sucks the princoly egg. – Henry V, 1598

I can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weazel sucks eggs. – As You Like It, 1600

Check out the entire citation at:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/weasel-words.html

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

WhizzyWig-What you See is What you Get!

‘WYSIWYG’, pronounced ‘whizzywig’, means What You See is What You Get, this is computer lingo…

This is generally thought to have been coined from the phrase and in reference to the graphical computer user interfaces that were emerging from Xerox PARC in the 1970s, but it isn’t known who first used the acronym in that context. The first such reference that I can find comes surprisingly late, in Byte magazine, April 1982:

‘What you see is what you get’ (or WYSIWYG) refers to the situation in which the display screen portrays an accurate rendition of the printed page.

For more info on this fascinating acronym, see:
www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/what-you-see-is-what-you-get.html
Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Going Dutch Treat

Double Dutch, meaning: nonsense; gibberish – a language one cannot understand.

Origin-
There are a host of phrases in English that include the word ‘Dutch’; that’s hardly surprising as The Netherlands is just a few miles across the sea from England. We don’t have anything like as many expressions that include ‘French’, so why the interest in ‘Dutch’? Two reasons: trade and war.

Both England and Holland (which is what most people call The Netherlands), have a vigorous and wide-ranging maritime trading tradition that dates back to the 16th century. England imported many commodities from Holland and gave them ‘Dutch’ names. The first of these imports was ‘Dutch sauce’, which we now call Hollandaise.

Here are more phrases:
Dutch bargain – a bargain made when one is debilitated by drink – first recorded in 1654.
Dutch defense-a legal defense, the defendant seeks clemency by deceitfully betraying others- 1749.
Dutch comfort – cold comfort; only good because things could have been worse-1796.
Dutch metal/Dutch gold- a cheap alloy resembling gold-1825.
Dutch courage – brash bravery induced by drink – 1826.
Dutch treat – no treat as such; each person pays for their own expenses – 1887.

The rest of the article is pretty funny! Check it out at: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/double-dutch.html

Hey…pony up!

Pony up, meaning to pay money, especially a payment that is in arrears.

Origin: “Pony up” is very much an American phrase and most people in the USA will know its meaning, whereas elsewhere in the English-speaking world the expression is rarely used. In the UK we are more likely to ‘stump up’ and in Australia and New Zealand money is ‘fronted up’. So what have ponies got to do with paying money?

A pony is of course a small horse and that meaning has been in use since the mid-1600s. The word has several other slang meanings, including:

- A small measure of alcohol (British, first documented in 1708)
- A short crib sheet or study aid (American, 1827)
- Twenty-five pounds (British slang, 1797)
- An abridged news report (American, 1877)

In the 1950s, ‘pony’ was also adopted as Cockney Rhyming Slang for ‘rubbish; nonsense’. The full version of the rhyme is ‘pony and trap’ – and I’ll leave it to you to figure out what ‘trap’ rhymes with.

Read the full citation at:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pony-up.html