EARLY BIRDS, NIGHT OWLS, AND BURNING THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS

Are you an early bird or a night owl, or do you burn the candle at both ends?

 An early bird rises early. This originates from the proverb “the early bird catches the worm,” which means that someone who acts more promptly is more likely to be successful [1]. An early riser is also called a lark, while someone who habitually goes to bed late is known as a night owl [2] or is said to “burn the midnight oil,” recalling pre-electricity days.

People who “burn the candle at both ends” get up early and stay up late, so are generally sleep-deprived. This expression originated in France (brûler la chandelle par les deux bouts) and was translated into English in 1611. It originally referred to dissipating one’s wealth but since developed its current meaning [3]. Jack suggests that clerks and tradesmen working after dark often secured their candles horizontally in the middle and lit them at both ends. He states that although this would give them enough light to work by, they would have to work harder and faster as the candle would burn out more quickly [4].

Being unconvinced about the practicality of literally burning a candle at both ends, I tried an experiment. The candle in the following video should normally burn for around five hours. When suspended horizontally and lit at both ends, it lasted for less than six minutes. A worker using a candle in this way would have had to work extremely fast, and most of their candle would be wasted. I stopped videoing when the string caught fire. The candle was suspended over a metal surface, and appropriate fire precautions were taken.

It appears much more likely that the phrase “burn the candle at both ends” refers to burning candles at both ends of the day, rather than both ends of the candle.

Examples of use:

“The researchers also found evidence that night owls would accumulate ‘sleep debt’ during the working week and would sleep longer at weekends to compensate for this, whereas early birds had smaller differences in their sleeping patterns across the week.”

“But excessive hours are not sustainable - there are only so many times you can burn the midnight oil before your performance, decision making and wellbeing begin to suffer”

“I rediscover my teenage appetite for big nights out, but can no longer burn the candle at both ends.”


[1] “early.” In Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms, edited by Ayto, John. Oxford University Press, 2009.
[2] Cresswell, Julia. “owl.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. Oxford University Press, 2009.
[3] “burn the candle at both ends.” In The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, by Christine Ammer. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2013.
[4] Jack, Albert. Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep: The Origins of Even More Phrases We Use Every Day (p. 163). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.

Photo credit: 1980supra

HOT POTATO

A hot potato is a difficult issue or problem that no one is keen to deal with or discuss.

 e.g. “A second referendum on Brexit is the hot potato of British politics.”

 This phrase apparently dates from the 1800s and originates from a longer phrase, “to drop something/someone like a hot potato.” It refers to the tendency of hot potatoes to retain heat, making them likely to burn if held for too long. [1]

 e.g. “The idea was dropped like a hot potato when the City kicked up a stink.”

[1] “hot potato.” In The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, by Christine Ammer. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2013.

Photo credit: Martin Cathrae

SAVED BY THE BELL, BUT WHICH ONE?

If you are saved by the bell, a difficult situation ends before you have to take an undesirable action.

 e.g. “‘Rain in August meant we were saved by the bell and I expect an average German crop,’ he said, adding that along with [the] U.S. crop there would be ‘sufficient market supply’ although prices would remain high.”

There are several theories regarding the origin of this phrase.

In a boxing match, the ringing of a bell to mark the end of a round can save a floored contestant [1,2]. This appears to be the most popular explanation, and the phrase is still frequently used in reports on boxing matches.

 e.g. “He beat the count only for Lomachenko to resume the assault and was soon floored a second time, making it to his feet at nine before he was saved by the bell.”

Another claim is that the phrase originates from a Horse Guard Parade in London during the Victorian era, when a guard was accused of being asleep on duty. He denied this charge and stated that he had heard Big Ben's main bell chime 13 times at midnight, rather than the expected 12. When the clock mechanism was checked, it was found that a cog was out of line, which would indeed cause Big Ben to chime 13 times rather than 12. Based on this evidence, the guard was freed and thus saved by the bell [3].

A third theory relates to ‘safety coffins’. These were invented in response to stories of people being buried alive after being mistakenly declared dead, which understandably led to people fearing that this might happen to them. (This fear was named taphophobia.) Many safety coffins were fitted with a bell to allow the occupant to call for help [4], and it is suggested that these were the origin of the phrase “saved by the bell” [5]. However, it appears doubtful whether anyone was ever buried in a safety coffin, despite several designs being built and sold [6], and Wilton (2009) describes this explanation as a myth [7].

[1] “saved by the bell.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by Knowles, Elizabeth, Oxford University Press, 2005.
[2] “saved by the bell.” In Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable, edited by Room, Adrian and Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. 2nd ed. Cassell, 2009.
[3] Jack, Albert. Red Herrings & White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Everyday (pp. 214–215). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
[4] Cascella, Marco. “Taphophobia and ‘Life Preserving Coffins’ in the Nineteenth Century.” History of Psychiatry 27, no. 3 (September 2016): 345–49.
[5] http://www.ancientpages.com/2016/02/09/strange-history-of-safety-coffins-from-ancient-to-modern-times/
[6] https://australianmuseum.net.au/about/history/exhibitions/death-the-last-taboo/safety-coffins/
[7] Wilton, David. Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, Oxford University Press, 2009.

Photo credit: Brian Metcalfe

STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT

To strike while the iron is hot is to take advantage of an opportunity immediately so that you have the best chance of success.

 Examples

 “Be prepared to strike while the iron is hot.”

 “Everton will be desperate to redeem themselves after their humiliating loss at Anfield, whereas Brighton will see this as a chance to strike while the iron is hot.”

 “Maybe FFA needs to strike while the iron is hot and focus on delivering more while more eyeballs than ever before are on the women’s game in Australia.”


 The phrase refers to a blacksmith shaping an iron horseshoe at the exact time that the metal was at the correct temperature and not giving it time to cool, when it would become more difficult to work with. [1]


 [1] Jack, Albert. Red Herrings & White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day

 Updated Thursday 12 March 2020

GET IT IN THE NECK

If you get it in the neck, you are severely criticised or punished.

e.g. “I do get it in the neck from everybody, from all sides. That goes with the territory.”

A Guide to American English idioms suggests that “it” in this case is a foot or fist, and that the expression refers to being kicked or hit in the neck, although the Oxford online dictionary states that this is a British phrase.

It is unclear why one would get it in the neck rather than elsewhere. The Free Dictionary suggests that this refers to execution by hanging or beheading, in which case “it” would be a rope or an axe.

CHAMPAGNE TASTE ON BEER WAGES

Someone who has expensive tastes but a low income might be described as having “champagne taste on beer wages”, since champagne is generally more expensive than beer.

 e.g. “My mother always said I had champagne taste on beer wages.”

 The phrase “living beyond one’s means” has a similar meaning, indicating that someone spends more than they can afford.

e.g. “He said that people got into debt for numerous reasons, from living beyond their means and easy credit to losing their job.”

It will be interesting to see whether another idiom appears on this theme involving avocado toast. Comments made by columnist Bernard Salt in October 2016 caused much controversy and spawned many articles (mostly tongue-in-cheek – more on that in a future post) querying whether breakfasting on avocado toast prevented young people from affording their own homes.

Photo credits: Hatem Riahi and Luca Nebuloni

SMELLING OF ROSES

If you come up/out smelling of roses, you emerge from a difficult situation with your reputation intact. The full form of this expression is “fall in the shit and come up smelling of roses,” which clarifies its origin. [1] It may be connected with someone falling in a bed of roses fertilised with manure; while the manure may smell unpleasant, the roses smell beautiful. [2] The rather vulgar beginning phrase is now normally omitted.

This idiom has particular relevance to the current COVID-19 crisis, which has brought out both the best and the worst in different people. Many people will certainly emerge from this “smelling of roses;” sadly, others will not.

e.g. “They thought they could come up smelling of roses and still win the referendum.”

Roses are used in several other idioms to indicate something beneficial.

Something that is coming up roses is developing favourably.
This phrase is used in several songs, including this one from the musical “Gypsy”:

The phrase “bed of roses” is more frequently used in the negative to describe something that is (not) easy and pleasant.

e.g. “Gaga said that being famous is not the bed of roses that some may think it to be.”

[1] “smelling” In Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms, edited by Ayto, John, Oxford University Press, 2009.
[2] Cresswell, Julia. "smell" In The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, Oxford University Press, 2009.

Photo credit: Andreas Lischka

Updated Thursday 26 March 2020

GOOGLE SCHOLAR AS AN EDITING TOOL

In academic research, new words are being invented at a much faster rate than dictionaries (even online ones) can keep up with, while existing words are constantly changing their function and/or meaning.

How, then, does an editor decide whether an unfamiliar word is a misspelling or a ‘valid’ word that hasn’t yet made it into the dictionary, or whether a word that the dictionary lists as a verb can now be accepted as a noun?

As an editor, I would initially consult an online dictionary. (My personal favourites are the Oxford and  Collins dictionaries.) If my chosen word isn’t in a dictionary, I search for it in Google Scholar.

Use of Google Scholar to check words/phrases is based on the number of hits; however, incorrect words and phrases frequently return a significant number of hits, so finding a word on Google Scholar does not guarantee that it is correctly spelled; clearly, many errors pass the editing process.

Provided that there is a significant number of hits, comparing one version of a word with another based on the number of hits is a reasonably reliable way to decide which version to use. Even dictionary spellings are based on which ones are most commonly used, so this is an acceptable strategy.

For example, should “photo-caged” or “photocaged” be used in a scientific paper? (Neither is in the dictionary.) The former returns 440 hits while the latter returns 3,800. I would therefore use the latter as this is most commonly used.

Google Scholar frequently suggests corrections/improvements.
e.g. A search for the phrase “our manuscript titled” returns 101 hits, while the suggested correction, “our manuscript entitled” returns 800. (Suggested corrections do not always return more hits and may be incorrect, so should be checked with a new search.)

It should be noted that this is not a fail-safe method of ensuring correct writing; sometimes, errors outnumber correct versions. Here's an example:
The phrase “No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript” returns 528 hits. Clearly, this is incorrect and “exits” should be changed to “exists”; however, the correct phrase “No conflict of interest exists in the submission of this manuscript” returns only 214 hits - less than half the number for the incorrect phrase. This technique is therefore best combined with a good knowledge of English and the subject in question.

This is based on my own editing experience. I hope it is helpful.

BY A LONG CHALK

I found this phrase while re-reading Terry Pratchett's final novel, “The Shepherd's Crown” (highly recommended). The phrase “by a long chalk” means “by far” in British English, while “not by a long chalk” means “not at all”, but why chalk?

 Apparently, the “long chalk” was the length of a line of chalk marks or tallies drawn on a blackboard, possibly for scoring during a pub game or in a classroom. If you had a much longer line of chalk marks against your name than others, you were far ahead of them. [1]


 Examples

 “I was taking the first steps on the most ambitious voyage I had ever attempted by a long chalk.”

 “The Last Hero, by the late, great Sir Terry, is not his longest book, not by a long chalk.”

 “Working on the Climate Change Act was probably the most productive six months of my life, by a long chalk.”

 “They say that old men forget, but we won’t. Not by a long chalk.” [2]


 [1] Cresswell, Julia. “chalk.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, Oxford University Press, 2009.
 [2] Pratchett, Terry. The Shepherd’s Crown (Discworld Novels) (p. 317). RHCP. Kindle Edition.

 Photo credit: Stephanie Asher (Creative Commons)

 Updated Wednesday 18 March 2020