ANY OLD HOW

I found this phrase in an Open University OpenLearn course. (These are free courses that are available in a wide range of subjects – highly recommended.) It means in a disordered manner.

 Examples:

 “Many of the Maigret novels sprint to a ragged close, the loose ends tied up any old how.”

 “Buy stems in tight bud and don’t just shove them into the car any old how.”

 “Then there’s the less dangerous but still annoying hazards – vehicles parked any old how all over the pavement, cluttered street furniture and the ubiquitous dog poo.”

 Photo credit: rattyfied (Creative Commons)

TODAY’S NEW WORD – FACTOID

The word “fact” is commonly used, but what is a factoid?

 I discovered this one in Margaret Atwood’s novel, “The Penelopiad,” [1] which tells the story of Odysseus from the viewpoint of his (dead) wife, Penelope.

“I know only a few factoids that I didn’t know before.”

 This was a new word for me. The Oxford Dictionary defines a “factoid” as “an item of unreliable information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact” as well as (North American) “a brief or trivial item of news or information.” According to the first definition, a factoid may or may not be true, while the second definition indicates something that is unimportant but true.


 Examples:

 “But this factoid is designed to deceive – starting with the inescapable reality that the 310,000, mostly white middle-aged men from London, who make up that top 1% of UK earners, take home 14% of the national income.”

 “And an interesting factoid is that the CX-30 is expected to hold up to 60 percent of its residual value after three years.”

 “But ask someone what’s so great about Finland’s schools, and you’ll typically be supplied with a factoid or three.”


 Photo credit: Art Gallery ErgsArt - by ErgSap (Creative Commons)

 [1] Atwood, Margaret. The Penelopiad (Canongate Myths series) Canongate Books. Kindle Edition.

BOLD AS BRASS

Terry Pratchett’s “Moving Pictures” reminded me of this phrase.

 Someone who is “bold as brass” or “as bold as brass” is extremely confident (or bold) and generally lacking respect for others, not caring that their behaviour might shock or annoy them.

 Examples:

 “Bold as brass thieves caught on CCTV stealing elevator weights from Edinburgh lift company TWICE in one night”

 “A woman in the southwestern German city of Kaiserslautern walked into a car dealership and, bold as brass, handed over 15,000 euros of counterfeit cash.”


 This phrase was first recorded in the 1780s [1]. It is not clear why brass is linked with boldness here, but this connection occurs in several other English idioms. (I did wonder whether it might be something to do with the loud sounds produced by brass instruments.)


 The word “brazen” is an archaic (old) word meaning “made of brass,” but it is also used to describe someone who is bold, without shame.

  e.g. “Infuriating footage shows brazen Audi driver speed down bus lane and intimidate cyclist in Dublin”


 Someone who behaves in this way may also be described as having “brass neck.”

 e.g. “I have zero tolerance for people who have the brass neck to ask me to work for free with the lamest of excuses for not paying me.”

 Photo credit: Markus (Creative Commons)

 [1] “As” In Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by Susie Dent. 19th ed. Chambers Harrap, 2012.

A BLUE MONDAY

We say that someone is feeling blue if they are feeling sad or depressed.

 e.g. “I’m feeling blue because I don’t have that big, milestone race ahead of me.”

 A blue Monday is one on which someone feels blue, often because they must go back to work after the weekend.

 e.g. “Facial recognition software can potentially recognise a ‘Blue Monday’ simply by scanning employee expressions”

 Blue Monday is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as typically the third Monday In January.

 e.g. “To mark Blue Monday (the third Monday in January), the city aquarium is offering a discount to try to lift people’s moods.”

 This date was first identified by Dr Cliff Arnall in 2005; however, he stated in 2018 that the phrase was intended to inspire people to “take action and make bold life decisions” rather than emphasise misery.

 Photo credit: Marcus Rahm (Creative Commons)

A FLEA IN ONE’S EAR

I was reminded of this phrase while reading Robert Dinsdale’s novel, The Toymakers [1]: “I had to send him away with a flea in his ear.” – highly recommended!

 Other examples:

 “Water company officials were sent away with a flea in their ear after they ignored advice to consult people about plans for a £2m sewage pumping station under a play park.”

 “Benetton headed in at half-time with a 10–5 lead, while the Saints players were about to get a flea in the ear from the coaching staff.”

 “But she left court to return to her children with a flea in her ear after Judge Stephen Thomas told her: ‘I have had in mind the effect on your children, which is more than you have done.’”

 Photo credit: AJ Cann (Creative Commons)

 [1] Dinsdale, Robert. The Toymakers. Ebury Publishing. Kindle Edition.

THE LAST STRAW

An occurrence that is “the last straw” or “the last straw that broke the camel’s back” is the latest of a series of undesirable/unpleasant occurrences that finally makes a situation intolerable.

 Examples:

 “The four parties then declared that many things had cumulated over the last few months and this issue was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.”

 “The humiliating elimination from the FA Cup by Liverpool’s reserves proved to be the last straw for a posse of Everton fans, who turned up at the club’s training ground this week to give players and staff some forthright feedback.”

 “The business said that Havering Council hiking up parking charges last year ‘was the last straw’.”


 This phrase is believed to originate from a mid-seventeenth-century proverb meaning that even a minor problem can overwhelm someone who is already overburdened. [1]


 Photo credit: Todd Fowler (Creative Commons)

 [1] Knowles, Elizabeth. “last” in The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press, 2005.