Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-07
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Archaic and poetic words, for instance,
which no one would use by themselves
readily occur in everyday speech in
such idiomatic phrases as: Hither and
thither, to and fro, might and main,
rack and ruin, kith and kin, on ones
mettle, at one fell swoop, to set at
nought.
Prof Smith gives the following list Of
common idioms in which survive obso-
lete words, never used except in some
special phrase. In the phrase, hue
and cry" the first is obsolete; in hem
ming and having" the last; in Ito take
in the tolls" the last; in at bay" the
last; in at beck and call" the second;
in of yore," the last; in "a pig in a
poke" the last.
ITO go the whole hog" is an express
sion which means nothing, grammati-
cally, or logically, but automatically Is
rich with meaning. 1t is doubtful If
there is an English-speaking person
who has not heard that phrase, but
probably there is no one who could
explain its derivation.
The idiom ito give the cold shoulder
to- person probably meant, Prof.
Smith says, not to turn the human
shoulder toward some one, but to put
the cold shoulder of mutton before an
unhonored guest.
AS might be expected of seafarine
people. the English have drawn many
of their idioms from fish. One of the
most popular of these is the expression
Ito drink like a fish," humorous al
fusion to the fact that fish lives In
water and therefore ought to be drink
ing constantly.
ITO get rise out of" a person harks
back to the fisherman and his line
When We speak of being 'in the swim,
no one is at loss to know what we
mean. A man who is not used to going
into society much says he feels like
fish out of water" at reception
Tilted lovers declare that there are as
good fish in the sea as ever came ou'
of It,"
Who would suspect, for instance. un-
less he saw it in some such book a.
Prof Smiths, that when we speak oil
"forlorn hope" we really are using
an adoption of the Dutch phrase "ver-
loren hoop" lost troop.
Idioms from horses are even more
numerous than those from dogs anc
cats: they include ito take the bit ir
ones teeth" Ito prick up ones ears,
Ito eat ones head off," Ito look a gift
horse in the mouth" Ito swap horses
while crossing the stream, etc. frol
Smith gives more than SO OF these
with some 80 or 40 more from the race
track and the farm.
A phrase in very common use, te
curry favor" was originally Ito curry
Favel" a fallow- colored horse. pro-
verbal type of fraud and cunning.
Except one make a special study Of
such things. he must accept idioms al
they are. without bothering about them
The distinction to be made Is whether
they are outright slang or English
idiom.
There will always be bold users Of
English, who like certain new words
which seem picturesque to them anc
who will use them, and thus help te
ingratiate them with more timid writ
ers who are rather in awe OF grammar
Grammar and idiom help make Eng
fish what it IS Each in its place plays
its part. What would be the use OF
grammarians disputing about TO curry
favor" If they didn't know that favor
was really "Favel"?
An idiom Is like an outstanding mar
who forces the world to accept him al
his own valuation. He stands for some
thing.