“High and Dry & Let the Cat Out of the Bag” and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions (Pt. 12)

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Here to join us again is Andrew Thompson as he continues to share another slice from his ultimate guide to understanding these mini mysteries of the language we all speak. In the lap of the gods means a situation whose outcome is unclear and can't be influenced. Some say the expression began with the practice of leaving gifts of thanks with statues of gods. Whilst this has occurred for centuries, the phrase actually derives from the Iliad, Homer's text from the 8th century BC. In the story, Achilles battles the Trojans and kills Hector's brother, Polydorus. Hector sees this and challenges Achilles, brandishing a spear in his face. Hector says to Achilles, I know you are brave and stronger than me by far, but these things lie in the lap of the gods. Though I'm the weaker man, I'll take your life.

Achilles survives and the Trojans are defeated. A last-ditch attempt is a final effort to solve a problem or avoid defeat, and it's a military term that dates to the late 17th century. King William III of England is credited with the expression during the Anglo-French war with the Dutch Republic. William was offered to be made sovereign prince of Holland if he would capitulate, but he refused, and an envoy of the Dutch king threatened that William would witness the end of his fate.

William replied, there is one way to avoid this, to die defending it in the last ditch. The phrase was then picked up by the citizens of Westmoreland in the American War of Independence, when in 1798 they said, in war we know but one additional obligation, to die in the last ditch or uphold our nation. By the early 1800s the figure was being used figuratively. If someone's a laughing stock, they're an object of ridicule or humiliation, and that originated from the medieval form of punishment in England. Most villages had stocks set up in the public square, and the stocks comprised two sliding boards with holes in them that were secured on a wooden frame. The hands and feet of the victim were placed in the holes, rendering him unable to escape or move freely. Petty criminals were put in the stocks so the town people could gather around, laughing and humiliating the person, even throwing rotten vegetables at them.

The phrase laughing stock had developed into its current use by the early 1500s. To lead someone up the garden path means to deceive them, and it also sometimes sets down the garden path, and its origins started in the early 1900s in England. Country estates at the time usually had acres of gardens that contained trees, hedges and paths that would wind throughout. It was in the romantic parts of these gardens that gentlemen would traditionally propose to their sweetheart. Women knew this, so to be invited on a walk by a suitor was a positive sign, and one they were often keen to accept.

But it also wasn't uncommon for some men to lead a woman up the garden path not to propose marriage, but merely to try to seduce her. To leave high and dry means to be stranded without hope of recovery, and not surprisingly this expression relates to the world of sailing. It dates from the early 1800s and originally referred to a ship being run aground and unable to move. This left the ship exposed and vulnerable to attack, and the captain was rendered helpless until the tide came in. Its first written usage was in the Times newspaper in London in 1796, where it was said that a ship had gone aground when the tide had ebbed, left her nearly high and dry. To be left in the lurch means to be abandoned in an awkward or difficult situation, and its origins are with an old French board game called lorge.

It was played with dice and was similar to backgammon. If a player was left in a position from which they couldn't win, he suffered a lorge, which was a disadvantage. This concept was then brought into the card game of cribbage, where if a player is trailing by a certain margin, he is said to be left in the lurch. To let the cat out of a bag means to give away a secret, and it dates from the early 16th century and derives from a time when unscrupulous market vendors sold false goods. One of their common deceptions was to substitute a worthless cat for a valuable pig. After showing a buyer the sought-after suckling pig, negotiations on price would begin and the pig would be placed in a carry bag. At some point when the buyer was distracted, the pig would be replaced for a cat.

It was only when the duped buyer got home that the fraud was revealed when he let the cat out of the bag. The expression lick it into shape means to mould something or someone to suit a situation. It derives from the ancient Roman belief that animals were born formless and that their mothers had to lick them into the required shape. This belief is likely to have arisen because all mammals are born covered with a thick afterbirth which can make them unrecognisable.

The mother then licks that off and the properly formed animal appears. Bear cubs in particular are born in a seemingly shapeless form and receive a lot of attention from their mothers, so this would have also lent weight to the Romans belief. If you say that someone is lily livid it means that you think they are cowardly. It's often heard in western movies and it's an expression that we owe to the ancient Greeks, like many others. They believed that the liver was the organ that created blood and that a poorly functioning liver resulted in physical and mental weakness. In line with this belief they thought that a pale lily coloured complexion indicated a cowardly person, while rosy cheeks would be found on a strong man in good health. The Greeks also had the custom of sacrificing an animal before each battle. They looked to the animal's liver as an omen.

A liver full of blood was a good sign but a pale liver did not augur well. It was the great barred Shakespeare that brought the phrase into the mainstream when he used it in his 1606 play Macbeth. The lion's share is the largest part of something and it derives from one of Aesop's fables which now bears that name. It tells the story of a lion, a wolf and a fox as well as an ass who kill a stag to eat. The bounty is divided into quarters to share equally but before they start eating the lion claims the first portion because he is the king of the jungle. He then claims the second portion because he is the strongest and then the third portion because he is the most courageous. The other animals are left with the last quarter to eat but they are too afraid to claim it with the lion standing over them.

So depending on the version of the story the lion's share is either three quarters or everything. And great job as always to Greg on the production and a special thanks to Andrew Thompson. Hair of the dog to paint the town red is the book.

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