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Nov
28
T after Turkey Day (Phraseology, day 20)
2008 at 8am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
I hope those of you in the States had a great Thanksgiving! Bob and I celebrated here in Richmond with two of his brothers and their families, and I think it’s safe to say we had a fantastic time and ate way too much pie. Yesterday was extra special for my family because my little sister got engaged to her boyfriend of almost five years early yesterday morning. Congrats, Sarah and Tim! It’s been a long time coming, and I’m so excited to celebrate with them and help them plan a very special day. Sarah was so thrilled, I’m sure she didn’t have to take out the onion (fake emotion).
I originally planned to write this Phraseology post earlier in the week and schedule it to publish on Thanksgiving, but things got busy, and here we are. There were tons of fun facts to choose from in this section, so in keeping with the theme of the holiday, I picked a few food-related ones to share with you today.
Tobasco sauce was developed more than 125 years ago from a hot pepper that originated in Tabasco, Mexico.
Tootsie rolls were created by confectioner Leo Hirschfield and named for his daughter Clara, who was nicknamed Tootsie.
A turkey shoot is a situation in which the aggressor has an overwhelming advantage. Contrary to popular belief, Turkish baths originated in ancient Rome. Talk turkey may have come from the efforts of turkey hunters to attract their prey with gobbling noises.
I hope you didn’t overeat too much yesterday because I’d ate for anyone to experience a technicolor yawn—an informal term for vomiting, dating to the early 1960s—on such a great day. If you did feel sick, maybe it was touch and go for a while. That phrase has nautical origin: when a vessel is in relatively shallow waters so that its bottom occasionally touches the ground but then moves off without damage, that is called touch and go.
Take a gander is a reference to the bird’s long neck.
A downright lie is a terminological inexactitude. How’s that for a euphemism?
Throw out the baby with the bath water is from a German proverb that dates to 1512. Who knew?!
True fact is redundant. Has anyone else noticed how much this author enjoys pointing out redundancies?
And now for one that I feel compelled to share because the incorrect usage really grates on me: Use try to, not “try and,” as in “I’m going to try to pick up a few Christmas gifts today.” Hearing people say “try and” annoys me almost as much as hearing someone pronounce library “lie-berry.” It’s like nails on a chalkboard.
The area lighted by daylight just inside a cave entrance is the twilight zone.
A typewriter word is one that can be typed on a single row of a typerwriter or computer keybaord (e.g., typewriter).
There you have Phraseology day 20. Tell me, how was your Turkey Day?
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Congratulations to your sister!