Origin of Idioms

 

Origins of Idioms

I’m a lover of the etymology of old idioms.  When I discover the origins of these old familiar sayings, I am tickled pink.  For example, the origin of “tickled pink” dates back to 1922 and alludes to a person’s face turning pink with laughter due to being tickled and therefore indicating pleasure or happiness.  Recently, while driving in the car with my eldest son, we encountered a roadkill being devoured by turkey vultures.  I immediately blurted out they were acting like a “duck on a Junebug” to which my son was puzzled.  Having never heard of that term before; I explained it to him.  The origin of this phrase is not definitively documented but of course, indicates the swiftness with which something occurs.  I’m sure my son would readily know what “barking up the wrong tree” implies since he is a hunter.  In the 19^th century the phrase was coined referencing a hunting dog that has treed a raccoon but has chosen to bark at mistakenly the wrong tree.  This phrase was quoted in stories and discussions as early as 1830s by well-known frontiersman, Davy Crockett.

 I always like to refer to my granddaughters as “cute as a button”.  Upon researching this phrase, I found that cute is short for “acute” meaning sharp-witted or clever.  Some theories see the phrase as referring to a button quail which is small and cute.  Others contend that the phrase is in reference to a flower (bachelor button).  In any case the saying is to all references describing someone who is small and appealing.  Buttons are often associated with neatness, orderliness and a sense of smallness. It most likely evolved from the English saying, “bright as a button”.  Buttons, especially military ones, were known to be polished and shiny and thus bright.

“Madder than an old wet hen” is one that I remember my mother using.  It originated in the Appalachian Mountains and referred to how angry a hen gets when doused with water.  Apparently when the hen was overprotective of their eggs and tried to deter the farmer from collecting them, the farmer would dunk the hen’s head into a bucket of cold water to make them comply.   “Road hard and put up wet” is another idiom I remember from my childhood.  This saying refers to a horse who is not allowed to cool down after working up a sweat while running.  Horses should have their saddles removed, receive grooming and be allowed to walk a bit before being housed.  This idiom is used to describe those that are overworked, ill-treated or neglected and not cared for properly.  This phrase was popularized by western singer Tennessee Ernie Ford.

I could probably go on for days about all of the different idioms I’ve heard, but I don’t want to beat a dead horse!

Tammy Harvey  6/13/2025   

An Unlikely Visitor

 

Unlikely Duck Visit

Sometimes after preschool pick-up, my son will bring his 2-year-old daughter by my house for a visit.  On this particular day, it was sunny outside and she, with her sun hat already atop her head, immediately requested that we go out to do bubbles.  My bubble machine was out there, and she knew it.  Unfortunately, the bubble supply had run out so we couldn’t fulfill her request.  She settled into playing in the bubbler fountain that is next to the patio.  As she splashed her hands in the water, an unusual thing occurred.  A female mallard duck came swooping in and landed in my courtyard only a couple of yards from the fountain.  I had never had that happen before.  After all, the area is fenced in and the only entrance for a duck is to fly there.  This mallard and her partner had been residing in the pond behind my house for weeks but never attempted to visit me.  My granddaughter was elated.  She pointed and began yelling “duck, duck”.  Her father encouraged her to go see the duck as it waddled its way around the courtyard.  The duck was not scared easily and neither was my granddaughter.  It remained with us for several minutes and gave us a delightful sight to see before flying over to the pond.  I wonder if the mama duck was looking for a place to nest.

Tammy Harvey

5/24/2025

Also, Happy 2nd Birthday to Nellie (6/17/25) today!

Like Climbing Mt Everest

 

Like Climbing Mt Everest

My youngest granddaughter is a very petite baby for her age.  She was born a month early and has hit all of her milestones, but she is the tiniest.  When she began crawling it was an “army crawl” using her elbows and feet to shuffle across the floor.  At nearly one year old, she has perfected that technique and can move at a fast rate of speed.  She also pulls up and stands up and probably will be walking soon.  Her latest show of strength is her ability to climb to the top of the flight of carpeted stairs in their house.  There is a total of 14 stairs to surmount.  There are seven, then a landing, a turn and another seven to the top.  With her mother following along behind her for safety, I recently watched a video of this new trick. She took the first 5 then looked back at her mom as if to say, “look at me!”  Her mother encouraged her by saying “keep going, you’re doing great”.  She giggled and cooed her way to the landing.  To accomplish her climb, she first put her hands onto the next step then her knees on the previous step would rise to her feet as she propelled herself on up.  With an occasional look to her mother for support she made it to the top!  I feel like she should have planted a flag at the top like she was ascending a mountain, because for her it had to seem like Mount Everest.  Way to go Hannah girl!

Tammy Harvey

5/24/2025

Graduation 2025

 

Another Proud Moment

I attended both of my grandsons’ graduations this week.  The older one “graduated” from the 2^nd grade and the younger from preschool.  The ceremonies were well thought out and honored the children and teachers.  All the hard work and accomplishments were celebrated.  My oldest grandchild, Charles, received a medal for “Dean’s List with Distinction” which meant he had all A’s on his report card all year.  This is a phenomenal achievement, and we are so proud of him.  He also won the superlative “most creative imagination” for his classroom.  All in all, I’d say it was a successful year for him. 

His brother, Grayson, was the front and center of his class’s performance.  He sang out with confidence and did all the hand motions to perfection.  They sang “Step by Step” and recited John 3:16. The highlight of the performance for me was a recitation they did about the “ABC’s of God” with coordinating hand signs.  I am sharing it with you:

The ABC’s of God

Almighty

Beautiful

Comforter

Dependable

Everlasting

Father

Good and

Holy is He!

Immanuel (repeat 2x)

Jesus is

King of Kings and

Lord of lords

Miracles, Meets our

Needs

One and Only true God

Prince of Peace

Quiets us (yes, He really quiets us)

Rescues us (repeat 2x)

Jesus has

Saved us from our sins!

Treasure of the

Universe

Valuable and

Wonderful

X-alted One

Yes, God’s Son

Zillionaire!

We declare

JESUS IS LORD!

Grayson and Charles will be attending the same school together next fall.  I know their parents won’t miss the double drop-offs and pick-ups they experienced this year.

Tammy Harvey

5/24/2025

 

Fly a Kite

 

Let’s Go Fly a Kite

The old idiom “go fly a kite” is directed to someone who is annoying, and the words are asking them to go away.  In other words, leave me alone!  But “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” invokes a totally different image.  In the movie “Mary Poppins”, Dick Van Dyke sings a lovely, jovial song about flying a kite, together with his family.  My experience recently is certainly the latter of the two sayings. 

At the beach last week, my nearly two-year old granddaughter was experiencing a trip of her lifetime.  She was enjoying playing in the sand and swimming in the tidepools at Kiawah Island, SC.  This is a fearless little girl who will try everything yet cautiously.  She is brave.  She firmly held a hermit crab but pointed to the jellyfishes lying on the shore and shouted, “no touch”.  Her ability to comprehend is astounding, and she is just getting her own voice to speak in sentences.  I brought a kite with us on this trip, specifically for her to watch it fly.  The wind was strong and constantly blowing at the spot we resided at the ocean.  On the second or third day of our trip, I remembered to bring out the kite.  I struggled to put it together properly and could not get it to fly at first attempt.  I put it aside, disappointed that the colorful butterfly kite was a bust.  She really wanted it to go “up, up, up” and so did I.  Her uncle came to the rescue and corrected the mistake in the assembly.  The kite promptly went sailing high into the sky.  My granddaughter was mesmerized.  It certainly created the response I had hoped for. 

At some point, my son suggested allowing her to fly it on her own.  I was skeptical because the wind was strong, and it tugged pretty hard on the string.  He put the kite string holder in her hand and her little fingers made a fist around it.  She hung onto it like a professional.  She did it all by herself for a very long time.   It was a proud moment for all of us.  The joy that she had flying it on her own was soaring, pun intended.  It was the best $10 I had ever spent.

Tammy Harvey

5/23/2025    

40th Wedding Anniversary

 

Would of, Could of, Should of

I have found as my years of wisdom have accumulated, there can be no “what-ifs”.  Today would have been my 40^th Wedding Anniversary, if my husband had survived.  As it were, we had 33 years of marriage.  There are many "would of, could of and should of" feelings that arise when you lose someone so suddenly.  We had 9 months to prepare, but that isn’t really long enough to do or say what you really want to do or say.  There is much numbness in the anticipation of an impending death.  Acceptance of the situation brings about peace.  If I go back and consider the “what-ifs” it just introduces scenarios that weren’t meant to be.  God’s plan has a purpose.  We had three beautiful children and thirty-three years as a family.  I reside in that fact. 

Tammy Harvey

Married to Jerry Harvey on May 25, 1985   

Memories never Die

 

A Memory

The old gentleman sat on the worn floral sofa as he had for the last 60 years.  His face was solemn as he peered into the kitchen.  All was quiet.  She had prepared his last meal there and her passing was deeply felt.  His heart felt broken, but he smiled as he envisioned her there at the counter with her apron covered in flour, making her mother’s fried pie recipe.  It was her blueberry-filled fried pies that she loved to make for others.  They were flaky with just the right amount of crunch.  A pinch of salt, a portion of sugar and a whole lot of love went into each one.  As she would brush her hair aside with the back of her hand, a smudge of flour residue was left on her face.  He almost chuckled at that thought.  It truly was a labor of love as she carefully rolled out the dough and cut it into triangles.  She then placed a generous dollop of homemade blueberry jam onto the flattened triangle and placed another triangle atop of the jam.  She took her fork and sealed along the edges all the way around each one.  Not only were they delicious, but her pies were charming.  After all the pies were assembled, she got her cast iron skillet hot with sizzling butter.  The pies were fried to perfection. The buttery pastry would melt in his mouth and the sweet blueberry filling would burst forth onto his tongue.  He remembered how they had gone together to pick the blueberries at a local farm together and it warmed his heart.   He saw that only two fried pies of the last batch she had made remained on the platter under the dome.   He knew they were the very last ones.  The sun streamed in on the lovely pies, and he knew just what he would do.  The minister was coming over for a visit soon.  He would brew some coffee, and they would each have a fried blueberry pie.  It would be a special tribute to her, as she would have wanted him to share them.  Afterall, he still had the memories associated with the fried pies.  That memory will never go away.

Tammy Harvey

5/19/2025