Red Herrings and White Elephants

by Albert Jack

  At The Drop Of A Hat is used to imply something would be carried out immediately. The phrase is easily traced to the 19th century when sporting referees, who usually wore hats, would raise one into the air, alerting competitors to be ready, and then drop it to signal the start of an event. The method was commonly used in boxing or horseracing and such events were considered started ‘at the drop of a hat’. It is sometimes thought to be of American origin but the practice has long been used on both sides of the Atlantic.

  A Hat Trick is the common phrase used to illustrate three of anything, but is most often associated with goals scored by footballers. But the origin of the phrase is found in a different sport, cricket. Traditionally any bowler dismissing three batsmen with three consecutive deliveries would be awarded a new cricket cap by his team in honour of the achievement, which became known as a ‘hat trick’. Supporters at cricket matches seldom witness a hat trick as it only happens on rare occasions. In football it is far easier to achieve and thus much more common.

  To Keep It Up means to persevere at a task and a person should carry on in the same manner. But what is ‘it’–and why should it be ‘up’? The origin for this can be found in the Victorian penchant for playing badminton in the gardens of country houses during summer months. Quite simply the shuttlecock needed to be kept up and the phrase ‘keep it up’ was frequently shouted during rallies.

  To Knuckle Down means to concentrate and apply more effort to a task. Surprisingly this term emanates from the world of marbles where an important rule of the game is that the knuckle must be placed in the exact spot a player’s previous marble had come to rest. Those not concentrating and playing carelessly with their knuckle off the ground would quite simply be told to put their ‘knuckle down’.

  To Knuckle Under means to submit and admit defeat. In the late 17th century when arguments raged in the drinking taverns of London, there was a custom that when a person admitted defeat he would knock the underside of a table with his knuckle. There is also a suggestion dating from around the same time that bare-knuckle prize-boxers would keep their fists down, with their knuckles under their hands, when they no longer wanted to fight, and to have them up facing an opponent when they did. Over the years this phrase has also corrupted to ‘buckle under’.

  When something gets done in the Nick Of Time it has been done at the very last possible minute, before it was too late. During the Middle Ages a tally man would keep the scores for team games. This chap would do so by carving a nick in a piece of wood each time a team scored and if the winning nick was added during the last minute it was known as the ‘nick in time’.

  To Play Fast And Loose is used to describe a person who cannot be trusted, usually with another’s affections. Fast and loose was, for centuries, a popular gambling game played at race meetings, fairgrounds and market places all over Europe. Originally known as ‘pin and girdle’ it was played with loops made of leather straps being tossed over peg. The ‘fast’ in the phrase is used in the sense of an immovable object (the peg) and the ‘loose’ began as ‘loops’ before developing in the 15th century to become the idiom we have today. The game was apparently played with ‘carefree abandon’ which is how it became applied to the carefree and shallow attitude some of us adopt at times.

  The phrase To Come Up To Scratch is closely linked. In early bare-knuckle boxing or prizefighting bouts, long before the Marquis of Queensberry produced any rules, a line would be scratched in the ground midway between each fighter’s corner at the start of the bout. Any boxer who was knocked down would be given 30 seconds to gather his senses and return to the scratch and show he was fit (or willing) enough to continue fighting. Any boxer ‘coming up to the scratch’ would be allowed to continue, but a boxer not coming up to the scratch was deemed the loser.

  To Start From Scratch is a saying we use to illustrate starting again from the beginning, regardless of how much we have already achieved of a task. This is easily explained as during medieval horse races competitors would start at a line ‘scratched’ into the ground by either a sword or a javelin. If competitors cut corners, or strayed from the set course of the race, they would have to start again from the scratch.

  To Throw Your Hat Into The Ring means you are signalling an intention to join an event or enterprise, or by taking up a challenge. The phrase can be traced back to the days of prizefighters who would tour the country with travelling fairs giving local people the chance to win money by trying to beat them in the ring. The way any local would enter the competition was to throw his hat into the ring, which would then be placed in a pile with the others and later shown to the crowd as an invitation for the owner to step forward.

  A Turn Up For The Book is a pleasant surprise, although not necessarily for everybody. This is a horse-racing phrase dating back to the time the sport was even shadier than it is now. A ‘book’ is traditionally a record of bets laid on a race kept by the bookmaker. There were occasions, when the favourites were backed heavily and expected to win, that a bookmaker could lose his livelihood on the outcome of a single race meeting. At these times it would be in his interest for an unfancied horse, with very few bets on it, to romp home in one of the last races and save the bookmaker’s hide as he then got to keep all the money staked on more popular horses. The sport of kings had a relatively small community and it wasn’t uncommon for favours to be called in at times. It was known that some owners would allow their champion horse to turn up and run under the name of an inferior nag, beat the field and thereby save a friendly bookmaker’s business. As a result otherwise slow horses racing well and surprising ‘everyone’ by winning was known as a ‘turn up for the book’. The horse had turned up especially to assist the bookmaker’s book.

  To have the Upper Hand implies a person will win a contest or social situation. This phrase dates back to the 15th century and a pastime involving two or more contestants. The first player grips a staff at the bottom end while the next places their hand just above it. This goes on, hand over hand, until the upper end of the shaft is reached: the last person to be able to take a grip has the ‘upper hand’. This method of finding a random winner was often used in baseball and cricket in the 1900s when hands would be placed on a bat and the last to take a grip got to play the game first.

  To be Batting On A Sticky Wicket is to be faced with a difficult problem that requires great care to resolve successfully. It is a cricketing term alluding to the difficulty a batsman has playing on a wet and tricky wicket. These days a wicket is protected from the rain by covers quickly pulled over if the clouds burst overhead. But earlier cricketers often played on a wet surface and great care was needed. The West Indian team fell foul of a ‘sticky wicket’ at the Kensington Oval in 1935 and it was later reported that the ‘West Indians have a remarkable record here having only lost once in 1935 on a sticky pitch.’

  A Wild Goose Chase is a fruitless pursuit with no hope of successful outcome. Its origin comes from the earliest form of horse racing during the 1500s in England. First the lead horse would be sent off in no particular direction with the rider able to choose his own route. After a delay a second rider would be sent off in pursuit, followed by all other competitors at regular intervals. As none of the pursuing riders knew which route the lead horse had taken they all set off in different directions akin to wild geese scurrying after their leader. The term was regularly applied to the sport but it appears to have been Shakespeare who altered the meaning to one of hopeless pursuit.

  To Win Hands Down suggests a very comfortable victory. This is a widely used expression in the world of sport and its root can be found in the sport of kings, horse racing. Even today, when a jockey is winning comfortably he can gallop down the finishing straight without using his whip to encourage the nag along. Instead he can place both hands back on the reins, canter to the line and ‘win with his hands down’.

  7: WORK AND TRADE

  To go Against The Grain suggests something moving against the natural flow of events or f
eelings. For example, a wife, who hates football but will attend a Cup Final with her husband who loves the sport, might say, ‘Well, even though it goes against the grain, I will go along.’ It is a woodcutter’s saying, in use since the 1600s. To work by cutting or carving along the grain of wood is notably easier than cutting across (or against) the grain. Working with the grain is considered smooth and easy; against it is hard and unnatural.

  At Full Blast is associated with something going at full speed or operating at the maximum limit. Back during the Industrial Revolution foundries would use a huge blast furnace for the smelting of iron. When the foundry was at the limit of its production it would be regarded as ‘operating at full blast’.

  If we are not fit to Hold A Candle to somebody it means we are not in their league and should not be working in the same place. This phrase is traceable to the day when craftsmen would employ unskilled labour (usually children) to hold candles illuminating their work. Being told one wasn’t fit to ‘hold the candle’ was an insult indeed and usually used as a derogatory term to an inferior craftsman or street entertainer.

  To Carry The Can means to take reluctant responsibility for something, usually that has gone wrong. Originally a military term, the saying stems from the duty of one man to carry a large can (bucket) of beer between the mess and a group of men. The one carrying the can was responsible for both the beer and for returning the empty bucket. The phrase was in regular use by 1936 but a second theory dates further back. During the 19th century, explosive was regularly used in both coal and tin mines. One person would be given the unenviable task of carrying a can of explosives to the mine face each day, hence a reluctance to ‘carry the can’.

  When the Cat Is Let Out Of The Bag it means some sort of secret has been revealed. In the days of the medieval market deceptions were often played on unsuspecting buyers, and one of those involved piglets and cats. Having been shown a suckling piglet a purchaser would then start haggling with the vendor over price. While this was going on the piglet would be bagged up ready to be taken home but a cat was often substituted while the buyer’s attention was diverted. The deception would only be revealed when the buyer reached home and let a ‘cat out of the bag’.

  If we are told we have Our Work Cut Out For Us we know there is a lot to be done and a difficult task lies ahead. The phrase stems from the craft of tailoring but at first glance it would seem the work is being made easier (by having someone cut out patterns before the stitching begins). But, in fact, such a practice makes life more difficult for the tailor, as cutting the work out in advance is much quicker than actually tailoring a suit and therefore piles of material would mount up making it hard for the tailor to keep up. Therefore it is quite easy to imagine a tailor explaining he is busy as he has his ‘work cut out for him’ and would be hard at it for the foreseeable future. The first recorded appearance of the phrase meaning ‘more than one can handle’ turned up in A Christmas Carol, a Charles Dickens novel first published in 1843.

  The expression Dyed In The Wool is used to describe somebody who is fixed in their opinions and inflexible. The phrase came into use in English wool mills and is first recorded in 1579. Quite simply wool that had been dyed before it was treated would retain its colour much better than if it were dyed after weaving (known as ‘dyed in the piece’). Therefore ‘dyed in the wool’ became a phrase applied to anything that wasn’t easily altered by other processes, such as persuasion.

  Fired– Prior to the invention of toolboxes all English craftsmen and tradesmen carried their tools around in a sack. To be given their sack meant being discharged from employment and the worker would carry his tools either home or on to his next job (see The Sack). However, miners who were caught stealing coal or other materials, such as copper or tin, would have their tools confiscated and burned at the pit head in front of the other shift workers, a punishment that became known as ‘firing the tools’ or ‘being fired’. This meant the offender would be unable to find other work and repeat his crime elsewhere. Other trades adopted the practice and the phrase quickly established itself.

  Mad As A Hatter is a term used to describe unpredictable behaviour. In the Middle Ages making felt hats involved the use of a highly toxic substance called mercurous nitrate. This acid was known to cause trembling in some people, a little like the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, and those who suffered the effects in this way were assumed to be mad or crazy. During the 17th century tales were told of a man called Robert Crab, an eccentric who lived in Chesham, who was easily identified because of his distinctive hat and was known to locals as ‘the mad hatter’. He apparently gave away all his wealth to the poor and lived his life eating anything he could find in the countryside, such as grass, berries and dock leaves. The phrase passed over into the English language in the 19th century, thanks to Lewis Carroll and his novel Alice In Wonderland. In the story Carroll invented a mad hatter but he may have been inspired by a real-life figure.

  To Strike While The Iron Is Hot means to take action early enough, ensuring a favourable result. The phrase is a medieval blacksmith’s term, alluding to shaping an iron horseshoe at exactly the time the metal was at the correct temperature and not giving it time to cool, when it would become harder to work with.

  Having Too Many Irons In The Fire is an extension of the expression, originating at around the same time. It means that a person has too many activities taking place at one time, preventing them from giving enough time to any one of them. It must be tempting for a blacksmith to try and speed up his work by having more irons in his fire than he is capable of working with. The result would be that all of them either became too hot and soft, or cooled down again before he has had time to shape some of them properly.

  If somebody is described as On The Level it means they are trustworthy and reliable. In the 14th century the freemasons’ membership was exclusively made up of skilled stone workers. A level base or platform for a building or other structure was the most important part of a whole building project. Because of that the ‘level’ used to ensure a flat foundation was the most important tool a freemason had in his case, leading to a common phrase at the time describing anything, including a person, as ‘level’ (true, honest and dependable).

  Something going at Nineteen To The Dozen is operating very quickly indeed. Back in the 18th century coal-fired, steam-driven pumps were used to clear water out of Cornish tin and copper mines. Hand-powered pumps were slow and ineffective but at full power the steam version could clear 19,000 gallons of water for every dozen bushels of coal burned, which is how the expression became used.

  To Pay On The Nail means to make a prompt cash payment for good or services. Back in the bustling medieval market place, dealers were known by their round, pillar-like counters, called nails. It is thought the phrase referred to the practice of a buyer placing his cash openly and in full public view on the nail. This routine is recognised to this day by the four bronze nails that still stand outside the Exchanges in Bristol and Limerick. The expression is not unique to Britain, however: Holland and Germany have a similar saying.

  To make a Pig’s Ear out of something is to attempt a task and get it so badly wrong the effort is useless. The phrase dates back to the Middle Ages when it is said that the only part of a pig that could not be eaten or used in any way was the ear. Therefore, any craftsman or (usually) apprentice making something ineffective or unusable was considered to have produced a ‘pig’s ear’.

  To Stretch A Point is to exceed or to suggest something beyond what is usually acceptable. The phrase alludes to the tagged laces in 18th-century costume which were called ‘points’. To ‘truss a point’ meant to tie the laces together and to ‘stretch a point’ meant to allow them to adjust and provide room for growth beyond the clothing’s original intended size, such as after a feast or during early pregnancy.

  To find yourself in Queer Street is to be in some sort of financial trouble, possibly even bankrupt. The phrase originates from the word ‘query’
which tradesmen and merchants would write in their ledgers against the column of customers who were late in paying. The word would be written as a reminder to enquire of the debt the next time that person attended their premises for business. Carey Street, off Chancery Lane in London, housed the bankruptcy courts and through that became affectionately known as ‘Queer Street’.

  When somebody Queers Your Pitch they are deliberately attempting to prevent a successful outcome to your venture. During the 18th and 19th centuries market traders began calling the area set aside for their barrows and stalls a ‘pitch’, a term still used in Britain’s market places. It is not clear why the word ‘pitch’ was adopted as market slang but it could possibly have links to ‘pitching’ an idea. For hundreds of years prior to that the word ‘queer’ had been used as English slang for anything that was wrong or worthless. In the vibrant and competitive market places of centuries gone by it was common practice for rival traders to attempt to spoil each other’s trade, sometimes in an underhand way and sometimes legitimately by using better banter or cheaper goods. Rendering a rival stall worthless became known as ‘queering a pitch’.

  Later in the century stage actors adopted the phrase when other cast members stole the audience’s attention during a scene, evidence of which can be found in an 1866 review of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. ‘The smoke and fumes of “blue fire” which had been used to illuminate the fight came up through the chinks of the stage, fit to choke a dozen Macbeths, and–pardon the little bit of professional slang–poor Jamie’s “pitch” was “queered” with a vengeance.’

  To be Given The Sack is to lose your job, or be discharged from duty. This expression dates back to the day when craftsmen, tradesmen and labourers would travel from place to place, sometimes working on a project for only a few days and at other times for many years. Long before toolboxes, these workers would carry the tools of their trade around in a large sack, which would be given to their employer for safe keeping and then returned when their services were no longer needed. To be given the sack was to be given the means to carry their tools to another place of work, unlike being Fired when the tradesman had been caught stealing or breaking the rules, and his tools would be burned to ensure he would be unable to work elsewhere.