By MEGAN TUCKER
Staff Editor
Idioms have long been a fixture in figurative language. It’s one of those tools that you might have learned about in school but didn’t hear much after that. By definition, idioms are phrases adopted by a language that have an ulterior meaning besides the one directly stated. That can make idioms difficult for language learners to understand because the words aren’t meant to be taken literally. Here are a few popular idioms and the origins behind them.
close but no cigar: a person got close to a goal or successful outcome but ended up falling short
- This idiom may have originated from the 1920s. At the time, carnival games were marketed towards adults instead of kids, and a popular prize would have been a cigar. Thus, the person got close to winning the game but didn’t get a cigar.
riding shotgun: riding in the passenger seat of a car
- In the Wild West era, the people in a coach needed protection from robbers. Whoever sat next to the driver was armed with a shotgun for that purpose.
to fly off the handle: to lose one’s temper or act out irrationally
- Allegedly, this idiom comes from the 1800s when a poorly made axe would literally come apart from the handle and fly off.
don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater: don’t toss out something valuable along with something that is undesirable or meant to be thrown out
- In the olden days before proper plumbing, one tub of water was used for everyone in the household. The man of the house would bathe first and the rest would bathe after that. The baby was bathed last, so one would want to avoid throwing the baby out with the dirty water.
beat around the bush: to avoid something or stall an event
- Hunters used to hire men to beat around a bush that contained birds or other game. This would cause the animals to leave their hiding spot so the hunter could shoot them. The men did not want to hit the bush directly, though, because it might anger the animals. Instead, they beat around it to scare them.