IN THE WINGS

Following on from “winging it,” another idiom with theatrical origins is “in the wings,” which describes someone or something ready to do something or be used at an appropriate time. Again, “wings” refers to those at the sides of a theatre stage.

 Examples of use:

 “More than 70 years after his family opened the harbour-side business, the fishmonger is moving out with Scrabster’s JPL Shellfish waiting in the wings.”

 “Scotland’s biggest single art event will see 200 artists complete more than 500 tattoos with organisers saying the event has grown so much that they have 300 artists waiting in the wings eager to join proceedings.”

 “Felix Auger-Aliassime is waiting in the wings, standing in the concrete tunnel that leads out to the Indian Wells arena.”


 Photo credit: Alan Cleaver

WINGING IT

A new quiz on the BBC website asks “Can you wing this UK bird quiz?” Click on the link to try it. (Amazingly, I managed full marks. 😊)

 We say that we “wing” something when we improvise or perform it without preparation.

 Apparently, this phrase has nothing to do with birds. It originated in the late 19th century as theatrical slang and meant to play a role without learning the script, by either relying on a prompter in the wings (sides of a theatre stage unseen by the audience) or studying the part in the wings between scenes. Its more general meaning was acquired in the 1950s.

 Examples of use:

 “Are you the proud owner of a mountain of cookbooks but still feel like you’re winging it in the kitchen?”

 “At the start, I just winged it but then I started going to circus school in Derry.”

 “I went online to look for some recipes because I just didn’t want to wing it anymore.”


 [1] Cresswell, Julia. “wing” In The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. Oxford University Press, 2009.

 Photo credit: Phil Dolby