I finally decided to choose Wanderlust as the topic for my passion blog. But since some people commented that they liked my idea about Idioms, I decided to do my first entry about American Idioms that were brought from different countries.
1. “ Pass The Buck” – Placing the blame on somebody else.
I came across the meaning of this idiom in 2012 while going to Japan as an exchange student and volunteer. My classmates and I were visiting Nara, a place known for the beautiful temple of Todaiji. While we were visiting though, we discovered that the people living in Nara have some very interesting neighbors-
The deer of Nara are known throughout Japan as the ‘Heavenly messengers,’ and therefore hold a special meaning to the temple. These furry and charismatic creatures live inside Nara along with the citizens, and in ancient times a person could be put to death for killing a deer. It was very unlucky then, (but not uncommon) for the people of those times to wake up one day and find a dead deer on their doorstep-they would be accused of murder and executed. That’s why people on that era would wake up before sunrise and, if they did find a deer, they would move the body to their neighbor’s doorstep. Passing the buck? Yep. Fortunately though, that practice stopped a long time ago and now the deer are a symbol of the temple itself; entertaining visitors in exchange for deer treats. (Or anything that they can possibly fit in their mouths. My map and the strap of my bag, for example…)
2. “Armed to the teeth” – heavily armed.
While studying the American Revolution in my U.S. history class during high school, I learned about a type of gun called the Flintlock-
This was the newest weaponry of the time period and also the most popular during the revolution, but I also learned that it became popular somewhere else- Jamaica. Pirates in Port Royale during the 1600’s would use this guns to engage in confrontation and robberies. But like most guns during the time, the Flintlock would only let the shooter strike once before having to reload the gun in a relatively long process. This is why pirates would carry 2 of them, one in each hand, and another pair on their pockets. Finally, they would also carry a small knife in between their teeth in case they were forced to engage in close combat.
3. “Lend me your Ears” – Listen to me.
This idiom originated in England, and it comes from one of the most famous writers of all time- William Shakespeare. On his play “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” Antony’s character tries to turn the Roman public against Brutus for killing Caesar, while still keeping to his promise of not saying anything bad about Brutus. He begins this speech with the phrase “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” This idiom was also used by The Beatles on their song ‘With a Little Help from my Friends’ (“Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song And I’ll try not to sing out of key…”). This made the idiom even more popular in the United States during the 1960’s.
These are just a few of the many phrases we use today that come from around the world. Until I discovered their origins, I had never realized how these expressions actually connect us to the world- they come from different cultural and historical backgrounds, and can also involve topics ranging from literature to even food!
Mohamed Aboubakry Diop says
That was really interesting, I never thought about where these idioms came from and the fact that they come from various places is surprising.
Adil Sabir says
Very funny and interesting. I had no clue Shakespeare invented the phrase “lend me your ears.” Funny how old, Shakespearean English is used as a common maxim in our vernacular now .
Isabella Frances Teti says
I liked reading about how people would literally “pass the buck.” I’d heard of where the other two sayings came from before, oddly I always assumed “pass the buck” was American. I thought they were talking “buck” as in money, which obviously shows how much I know about what the saying actually means. I love reading your entries; can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
Alexander Bilger says
The origin of “lend me your ears” wasn’t one I was expecting. I know that Shakespeare had a tendency to make up words, but I never would have imagined that he was the one who created such a commonly used phrase. Armed to the teeth was also rather surprising for me, I thought it was just a way of saying someone was so completely covered in weapons that they had to resort to highly unconventional ways of storing them.
Mohammad Hifni Bin M As Ari says
I find this to be so interesting to read, moreover when I am bored. Although you are talking about facts here, they are not dull facts, they are fun facts and I love fun facts.
I love to read more about the idioms you have in mind next time.