Last month I published a post here about etyology — the study of the origins of words. Since then it seems I stumble over etyology, linguistics, syntax, idioms and the like at every turn. Even a book on music is talking about the rhythm and cadence of words as a tool to understanding how music affects our brains. Running  into this same concept over and over might be called the Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon, or frequency illusion. 

Writers often discuss experiencing this phenomenon when they have an idea for a new story. Our creative juices my be sludgy and opaque for weeks, months or even years, then we get an idea, or even just the glimmer of an idea. Suddenly, we see that idea playing out all around us. On the flip side, it seems several authors get a similar idea at the same time. Is it something in world events that triggers a common notion? Is there really a god-like muse at play who plants a thought in a dozen minds to see if it will grow? 

I can’t answer that question, but I do know I’ve been running into language delights everywhere for the past few weeks. Here are a few instances:

  • At Bible Study, we heard about Jesus’ visit to Jericho. It would appear that Jericho, both ancient and modern,  is a nice place.”Why then,” I asked, “do we ‘wish someone to Jericho’ when we want them to go away to a not nice place?” No one but me knew the expression but I had read it in the works of L.M. Montgomery. So I looked it up and here is what I found. 

The expression “go to Jericho” comes to us from the Old Testament where it appears as a command by King David to his mistreated and dishonored envoys to King Hānun of the Ammonites. At some point, however—perhaps by the middle of the eighteenth century, to judge from the examples in Farmer & Henley, cited above—English speakers began to use it euphemistically to say “go to hell.” The expression may have persisted in some corner of the English-speaking world, but it does not appear to be in general use today.   Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present 

  • My next example came while watching the Canadian Men’s Curling Championships, known as “The Brier.” An announcer used the phrase “the straw that stirs my drink.” The other broadcasters were flummoxed, never having heard the expression before. So, once again, I looked it up and found

The most valuable or important person or thing in a system.                      The phrase is usually   attributed to baseball player Reggie Jackson.  At the time it was viewed as a boastful commentary about his importance that ruined his relationship with other players. 

  • My last example is a  simile rather than an idiom but the colourful language appealed to me. A book describing a woman trying to make a living on a stony, neglected farm said “she worked as hard as three sled dogs.” Anyone who has seen a team of sled dogs towing heavy loads, while running at speed can understand the reference. 

Using idioms and colourful phrases can distinguish an author’s voice, make her prose memorable, and add a sense of place and time to the writing. But such devices should be used sparingly. Too many and the work becomes a caricature. Sometimes that is the aim — think “Hee Haw”– but readers can be easily turned off if the language becomes hackneyed and trite. Think of idioms in your prose like salt in your stew — a little is essential, too much spoils it.

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