Wherever people speak the English language on a regular basis, they use dozens upon dozens of old sayings and idioms to get across ideas and make points.
Some are stranger than others, but every last one of them is interesting in one way or another.
Here is another look at where a handful of these words and phrases may have originated.
- Roger (or roger that).
We all know this is a way of acknowledging our understanding of a given circumstance or situation, but why is this Roger guy involved?
In radio communication, a “spelling alphabet” is used to avoid confusion between similarly sounding letters. “Roger” was “phonetic” for the “R” in “received and understood.”
In the current spelling alphabet, R is now Romeo, but Roger has remained the response meaning “received” in radio voice procedure.
- Bussing a table.
This is of course what happens when a restaurant table is cleared and cleaned.
The phrase originates from the term “busboy,” which appeared around 1904 as a shortening of “Omnibus boy,” which emerged in the late 1800s. The term is derived from the Latin word, “omnibus,” meaning “for all.” An omnibus boy was a restaurant assistant who did “everything” – an omnibus of tasks – including clearing dishes and cleaning tables.
- Lickety split.
Whenever something happens in this manner, it happens quickly.
The phrase began showing up in the early 1800s. Where it comes from is a bit of a gray area, but it probably stems from the verb “lick,” meaning “to move at full speed,” with the “ety” suffix simply being a fun way to extend a one syllable word – like with “hippity hop” and “hot diggity dog.”
The split part likely refers to a rapid, violent action or breaking into a run.
- All the marbles.
With its origin traceable to the late 1800s, this well-known saying indicates that if something is going down with these stakes involved, it’s basically a winner-take-all situation or will result in nothing remaining.
It actually comes from the game of marbles, in which players bet their glass balls and compete until one wins everything.
- Dilly dally.
When someone does this, we know they’re procrastinating or perhaps taking longer than they should to accomplish something or finish a task.
This one goes way back to the 1400s and 1500s with the “dally” part having roots in an old French word meaning to chat. The “dilly” part was added along the way (sometime in the mid-1700s) for use with the current meaning.
I recently saw this two-word saying used in a sports-related article, with the author saying the athlete being highlighted shouldn’t wait around to make a decision on a contract.
- Odd ball.
As we know, someone who is this is considered to be an eccentric or off-beat sort of person.
It originated in the United States during the late 1930s, initially referring to a bonus of somehow extra ball in pinball games. By the 1940s, it shifted to the now familiar slang term
- Off the bat.
Of course, when something takes place in this manner, it occurs immediately or at the beginning of some sort of sequence.
Not surprisingly, the phrase originated in American baseball in the late 1800s in reference to a ball instantly flying off the bat when hit.
- Nippy.
We have definitely had some of this kind of weather lately.
Originating from the verb “nip,” meaning to bite or pinch, the term first appeared in the late 1500s in reference to the sharp or biting chill of cold weather.
Stay tuned; there’s plenty more to ponder.