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back-seat driver (W3)

November 02, 2014
Multimedia
English in a Minute: Back-Seat Driver
Published 11/01/2014

Do you have a "back-seat driver" in your circle of friends? Watch this video to find out what the phrase means.

back-seat driver

Back-seat driver

back-seat driver

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backseat driver (W3)

backseat driver

Backseat driver

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big fish in a small pond (W3)

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The implication behind labelling someone "a big fish in a small pond" is that he or she is content to stay in that position.
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11. "big fish in a small pond": "someone important in a small community"

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chiefly US

: a person who is very well known or important in a small group of people but who is not known or important outside that group In school he was a big fish in a small pond, but once he moved to the city he was just another struggling actor.
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The phrase is American and the earliest reference I can find to it is in The Galveston Daily News, June 1881:

'They [local vested interests in Galveston] are "big fish in a small pond".'

big fish in a small pond

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A big fish in a small pond is an important person in a small place or organisation.
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big fish in a small pond

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Blow Off Steam (W3)

January 11, 2015 07:09 UTC
English In A Minute

Blow Off Steam

Published 01/10/2015

This expression comes from the days of steam engines. Our one minute video tells you all about what blowing off steam means.

"let off steam" or "blow off steam" {v. phr.}

• 1. To let or make steam escape; send out steam. * /The janitor let off some steam because the pressure was too high./
• 2. {informal} To get rid of physical energy or strong feeling through activity; talk or be very active physically after forced quiet. * /After the long ride on the bus, the children let off steam with a race to the lake./ ... Compare: "BLOW ONE'S TOP", "LET GO" (6).

Limericks on blow off steam

Blow off steam
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This idiom is American English American English
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Fly by the Seat of One's Pants (W3)

fly by the seat of one's pants

Fly by the seat of one's pants

Fly by the seat of one's pants

December 21, 2014 05:33 UTC
English in a Minute: "Fly by the Seat of One's Pants"
Published 12/20/2014
You Don't have to be a pilot to "fly by the seat of your pants." Watch this video and find out about this expression.
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horn spoon
by the great horn spoon (W3)

Ambrose Bierce The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
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REGALIA, n. Distinguishing insignia, jewels and costume of such ancient and honorable orders as the Knights of Adam;

• Visionaries of Detectable Bosh;
• the Ancient Order of Modern Troglodytes;
• the League of Holy Humbug;
• the Golden Phalanx of Phalangers;
• the Genteel Society of Expurgated Hoodlums;
• the Mystic Alliances of Georgeous Regalians;
• Knights and Ladies of the Yellow Dog;
• the Oriental Order of Sons of the West;
• the Blatherhood of Insufferable Stuff;
• Warriors of the Long Bow;
• "Guardians of the Great Horn Spoon";
• the Band of Brutes;
• the Impenitent Order of Wife-Beaters;
• the Sublime Legion of Flamboyant Conspicuants;
• Worshipers at the Electroplated Shrine;
• Shining Inaccessibles;
• Fee-Faw-Fummers of the inimitable Grip;
• Jannissaries of the Broad-Blown Peacock;
• Plumed Increscencies of the Magic Temple;
• the Grand Cabal of Able-Bodied Sedentarians;
• Associated Deities of the Butter Trade;
• the Garden of Galoots;
• the Affectionate Fraternity of Men Similarly Warted;
• the Flashing Astonishers;
• Ladies of Horror;
• Cooperative Association for Breaking into the Spotlight;
• Dukes of Eden;
• Disciples Militant of the Hidden Faith;
• Knights-Champions of the Domestic Dog;
• the Holy Gregarians;
• the Resolute Optimists;
• the Ancient Sodality of Inhospitable Hogs;
• Associated Sovereigns of Mendacity;
• Dukes-Guardian of the Mystic Cess-Pool;
• the Society for Prevention of Prevalence;
• Kings of Drink;
• Polite Federation of Gents-Consequential;
• the Mysterious Order of the Undecipherable Scroll;
• Uniformed Rank of Lousy Cats;
• Monarchs of Worth and Hunger;
• Sons of the South Star; Prelates of the Tub-and-Sword.

"Horn", a "horn spoon"; a "comb of horn".

Horn Spoon

The horn spoon, made in 1877, was commissioned by Dugald MacFarlane's mother to commemorate his seventh birthday. A traveller craftsman produced it from a sawn, heated and pressed cow's horn and attached a thistle made from a silver sixpence. Dugald Macfarlane eventually became the Very Reverend, living in St Columba's Manse, Kingussie, Inverness-shire.

The spoon however is significant as it represents the importance of the contribution of the 'travelling people' to the everyday life of Highland rural communities. They used the resources of the environment around them to create all sorts of domestic and working goods such as horn spoons, heather mats, pot scrubbers, woven creels etc. As well as working on the land, the travellers also excelled in metalwork from tinsmithing to the re-working of silver and gold. For the latter, several became some of Scotland's primary provincial silversmiths.

Ambrose Bierce: The Devil’s Dictionary – Q R
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REGALIA, n. Distinguishing insignia, jewels and costume of such ancient and honorable orders as Knights of Adam; Visionaries of Detectable Bosh; the Ancient Order of Modern Troglodytes; the League of Holy Humbug; the Golden Phalanx of Phalangers; the Genteel Society of Expurgated Hoodlums; the Mystic Alliances of Georgeous Regalians; Knights and Ladies of the Yellow Dog; the Oriental Order of Sons of the West; the Blatherhood of Insufferable Stuff; Warriors of the Long Bow; "Guardians of the Great Horn Spoon"; the Band of Brutes; the Impenitent Order of Wife-Beaters; the Sublime Legion of Flamboyant Conspicuants; Worshipers at the Electroplated Shrine; Shining Inaccessibles; Fee-Faw-Fummers of the inimitable Grip; Jannissaries of the Broad-Blown Peacock; Plumed Increscencies of the Magic Temple; the Grand Cabal of Able-Bodied Sedentarians; Associated Deities of the Butter Trade; the Garden of Galoots; the Affectionate Fraternity of Men Similarly Warted; the Flashing Astonishers; Ladies of Horror; Cooperative Association for Breaking into the Spotlight; Dukes of Eden; Disciples Militant of the Hidden Faith; Knights-Champions of the Domestic Dog; the Holy Gregarians; the Resolute Optimists; the Ancient Sodality of Inhospitable Hogs; Associated Sovereigns of Mendacity; Dukes-Guardian of the Mystic Cess-Pool; the Society for Prevention of Prevalence; Kings of Drink; Polite Federation of Gents-Consequential; the Mysterious Order of the Undecipherable Scroll; Uniformed Rank of Lousy Cats; Monarchs of Worth and Hunger; Sons of the South Star; Prelates of the Tub-and-Sword.
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Nobody knows the source of the fanciful oath by the great horn spoon (sometimes great horned spoon).

By the great horn spoon
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The first recorded example is in a song which appeared in the American National Songbook of 1842 under the title French Claim, “As sung by Mr Andrews at the Tremont Theatre”:
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A "horn spoon", of course, is just a "spoon made from cow’s horn". There are tantalising hints that horn spoons might have links with Scottish folklore in some way, though exactly how is far from clear. The saying is sometimes associated with the California Gold Rush, mainly through a children’s book of 1963 by Sid Fleischman called "By The Great Horn Spoon". That book has introduced the phrase to generations of American schoolchildren, and is now pretty much the only work in which anyone ever encounters it. Even though many prospectors (including those in the book) reached the gold fields by sea around Cape Horn, the phrase has no connection with that wild and dangerous area of the South Atlantic.

My sources are completely silent on the origins of the saying, so I turned to the experts at the American Dialect Society. No very clear consensus emerged (they are almost, but not quite, as much in the dark as the rest of us). The seafaring connections were thought to be significant, possibly indicating an oath sworn by the Big Dipper or Little Dipper (respectively Ursa Major, also called the Plough, and Ursa Minor, or the Little Bear), both of them being important constellations for navigation in northern latitudes. It is certain that "horn" is an old Scottish name for "Ursa Minor" and a "dipper", of course, is really just a "big spoon". I’ve found it said as fact that the phrase does indeed refer to the "Big Dipper".

That sounds the most likely explanation, even though its early history is unknown and there are some loose ends in the story.

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Keep One's Eyes Peeled (W3)

14.01.2009 to keep one's eyes peeled for something

keep one's eyes peeled

English in a Minute: Keep One's Eyes Peeled
Published 02/28/2015
"To peel" means to pull back a layer. But, does this idiom really mean you pull back your eyelid? Figure out what it means with this episode of English in a Minute.

keep one's eyes peeled pay attention; be watchful

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lib.ru
American Idioms

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There's No Smoke Without Fire (W3)

Some Say 'There's No Smoke Without Fire'

What does 'No smoke without fire' mean?
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Any kind of fire – from a campfire to a lit match – gives off smoke. This fact about fire relates to today’s idiom: There is no smoke without fire.
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voanews.com
Spontaneous Idioms

TALK2US: Spontaneous Idioms
Published 03/23/2015
Marsha and Anna decide to "go with the flow" when they teach the idioms we use when we don't plan ahead.

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westegg.com
Cliche Finder
Redewendungen-Suche

Have you been searching for just the right cliché to use? Are you searching for a cliché using the word "cat" or "day" but haven't been able to come up with one? Just enter any words in the form below, and this search engine will return any clichés which use that phrase...

What is a Cliché?

I get many suggestions of cliches to add to this list - sometimes as many as a few hundred a day. As such, I consider myself quite experienced in identifying cliches. And, reading all these suggestions, I've realized something of late: too many people don't know what cliches are.
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Answer: a lot. A cliche is not just something that lots of people say; It's something that lots of people say and it conveys some sort of idea or message. A cliche is, in other words, a metaphor characterized by its overuse.
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You Don't Have to Be a Rocket Scientist (W3)

October 26, 2014
Words and Their Stories

You Don't Have to Be a Rocket Scientist to Read This
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These words send a strong message. They say that you do not need to be extremely intelligent to understand something

How did the expression begin?

No one seems to know for sure. But an official of the American space agency -- NASA -- says the expression just grew. It grew, he says, because rocket scientists probably are the most intelligent people around.
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Ammer, Christine (Autor)
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms

Nothing expresses the vitality, history, and character of a language quite like its idioms. Ask any non-native English speaker to make sense of a phrase such as "beg the question" or "keep your eyes peeled"; they can't do it. Idioms don't translate, which is what makes them such intriguing mirrors of how a culture evolves along with its speech. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms includes almost 10,000 of these figures of speech, slang phrases, clichés, colloquialisms, and proverbs, from "ace in the hole" to "zoom in on". Each entry defines an idiom, uses it in a sentence, then pinpoints its historical origins when possible. Some idioms, it turns out, preserve words or word uses that have otherwise fallen out of use ("one fell swoop"); others allude to long-forgotten catch phrases from movies or advertising ("more bounce for the ounce"). Consider, for instance the phrase "funny bone" - actually a pun on "humerus", the Latin name for the bone of the upper arm. Or the expression "moment of truth", a translation from the Spanish phrase originally referring to bullfighting - and first popularized, not surprisingly, by Ernest Hemingway. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms is like an archeological dig through the vernacular, and it unearths treasures such as these on every one of its pages. All those interested in language or its history should keep a copy on their library shelves.

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Claiborne, Robert
Loose Cannons, Red Herrings, and Other Lost Metaphors

A colorful compendium of everyday words and phrases and where they originated.

The English language is a treasury of splendid mysteries, among them the many words and phrases whose origins we no longer know. Often the original meaning was literal, pertaining to forgotten objects or activities — such as "aftermath", which once meant the grass that sprang up after a farmer had mowed a field. With the informal scholarship and good-humored wit that are his trademarks, Robert Claiborne reveals the wonders buried in our speech, vivid images of people and customs of the past. As the reader soon discovers, they are "a sort of hidden poetry that can heighten the colors and sharpen the meanings of words and phrases that we read or write daily."

Paperback, July 2001, ISBN 978-0-393-32186-9, 5.5 × 8.3 in / 256 pages

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Jack, Albert
Red Herrings and White Elephants
The Origins of the Phrases We Use Everyday

Have you ever wondered what phrases such as "'square meal", "load of old codswallop", "egg on your face" or "in the limelight" mean? Where do they come from? Have you ever taken a moment to wonder what we say actually means? The origins of hundreds of common phrases are explained in this irreverent journey through the most fascinating and richest regions of the English language. In a book that takes you all over the world, from nautical origins to food and drink terms, once you have learnt one phrase, you will be eager to learn them all! From the drop of a hat to the bitter end - you'll be surprised and intrigued and you'll never speak English in the same way again.

Albert Jack is a writer and researcher in pop culture whose favourite phrase is 'doolally'. He is 39 years old and has two children.

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Leonhardt, Wolfram
Amerikanisch im Alltag
Floskeln, Formeln, Phrasen, Redewendungen, Sprichwörter, Zitate

Aus der Reihe »Kleine Bibliothek der fremdsprachlichen Ausdrücke im Alltag« In dem alphabetisch gegliederten Nachschlagewerk sind Ausdrücke, Redewendungen, Floskeln, Sprichwörter und Zitate vereint, die jedem im täglichen Leben begegnen. Die von Alfred Sellner begründete Reihe - inzwischen schon zum Klassiker geworden - ist sowohl zum praktischen Gebrauch als auch zur bildenden und mitunter amüsanten Lektüre bestimmt.

(R) 11 x 18 cm, 136 Seiten, geb. Sonderausgabe
Versand-Nr. 229539