Very interesting. I have a rule for my own writing: if a cliche leaps to mind, I throw it out. The only exceptions are when the cliche occurs in dialogue, in which case it reflects something about the speaker.
Love this post, C.J. It prompted me to think about the unusual expressions used by my family.
My mother's family was from Scotland. I didn't realize how many "weird" Scottish phrases we used until I met my husband. Between the Scottish expressions I learned from my mother and the Canadian Navy expressions I learned from my father, my husband had to learn a whole new "language" when he married me. Then we moved to Texas, and we both had to learn how to speak Texan. That doesn't make us officially multilingual, but we do have a rather unique assortment of expressions.
That is such a wonderful story, Lois! Thank you for taking the time to share it with me. I had to smile when you said you had to learn to speak Texan! They do have another “language” there!
Hi C.J, I try not to use them as well, though sometimes, in context they are OK l. like a storm in a teacup (your picture). Hope you’re having a great day. I am back to work today so looking forward to seeing the students. 🙏💜😊
Are you over COVID? No danger of passing it around? You will have an enjoyable day. I know how you love being with the students. Having a decent day myself. A lot of errands and I’m ready for a rest!
I have a bit of body fatigue but that is a what it does, l am not contagious 😷 or sick 🤢. Yes, the students will be pleased and the day will fly. Enjoy your rest. Hugs back 💜
Fun! I was surprised to see only one allusion to sailing--there are so many. My favorite that my aunt always used to say about her father was that he was "three sheets to the wind"--IOW: drunk.
«Bean counter» is likely connected to carat, the unit for measuring the weight of gemstones and jewelry.
In ancient times, it was believed that seeds of carob (Ceratonia siliqua), a tree belonging to the same family as beans and peas, were quite uniform in weight and could be used as a standard. While that's not quite true, these small beans gave the name to carat.
Very interesting. I have a rule for my own writing: if a cliche leaps to mind, I throw it out. The only exceptions are when the cliche occurs in dialogue, in which case it reflects something about the speaker.
I agree, Dave. Dialogue has to make exceptions for a few things. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Love this post, C.J. It prompted me to think about the unusual expressions used by my family.
My mother's family was from Scotland. I didn't realize how many "weird" Scottish phrases we used until I met my husband. Between the Scottish expressions I learned from my mother and the Canadian Navy expressions I learned from my father, my husband had to learn a whole new "language" when he married me. Then we moved to Texas, and we both had to learn how to speak Texan. That doesn't make us officially multilingual, but we do have a rather unique assortment of expressions.
That is such a wonderful story, Lois! Thank you for taking the time to share it with me. I had to smile when you said you had to learn to speak Texan! They do have another “language” there!
Thank you once again …deep regards,
CJ
This is one of my favorite subject in school where we learned about them in two different languages.
That would really be interesting, Emika! I know how much I enjoyed writing about them for my post.
this was fun. And I learned by and large as well as cat got your tongue. Actually, so many interesting stories behind these cliches. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Sue. I’m glad you enjoyed it —I know I did 😁😊❤️💕
Hi C.J, I try not to use them as well, though sometimes, in context they are OK l. like a storm in a teacup (your picture). Hope you’re having a great day. I am back to work today so looking forward to seeing the students. 🙏💜😊
Are you over COVID? No danger of passing it around? You will have an enjoyable day. I know how you love being with the students. Having a decent day myself. A lot of errands and I’m ready for a rest!
Take care.
hugs
I have a bit of body fatigue but that is a what it does, l am not contagious 😷 or sick 🤢. Yes, the students will be pleased and the day will fly. Enjoy your rest. Hugs back 💜
Grinning ear to ear … ZZZZzzzzzzzz
😊💜
😊❤️
This was interesting! Some funny meanings behind these sayings, C.J.
Fun! I was surprised to see only one allusion to sailing--there are so many. My favorite that my aunt always used to say about her father was that he was "three sheets to the wind"--IOW: drunk.
Hello Carol! Yeah, there were at least twice as many online. I didn’t want to belabor the issue and make the list too long.
3-sheets to the wind —that’s a good one!
Hello, GeorgeAnn. I'm so pleased you enjoyed this post and I thank you for restacking it. ❤️
Hello GeorgeAnn. Thank you for restacking this post. I'm so pleased you enjoyed reading it. It was a lot of fun for me, too. 😊❤️
«Bean counter» is likely connected to carat, the unit for measuring the weight of gemstones and jewelry.
In ancient times, it was believed that seeds of carob (Ceratonia siliqua), a tree belonging to the same family as beans and peas, were quite uniform in weight and could be used as a standard. While that's not quite true, these small beans gave the name to carat.
A fun read. I'm prone to using such expressions while conversing bit not while writing, unless it's part of a dialogue.