I Busted a Gut Watching the Boob Tube!
By: Shawn Laib
Tags: Features, Humor, History, Language, Research

I Busted a Gut Watching the Boob Tube!

Where did our parents get these corny sayings from?

Almost every time my mom asks how somebody is doing, she says “what’s new in the motor pool?” Most of the time it just passes over my head because of repetition. But occasionally, I’ll ask her whether she knows the origin of the saying and why she uses this greeting. Her response? That her mother used it all the time.

My grandmother was born in the 1930’s. Needless to say, the phrases and expressions that people used nearly a century ago need a little context two decades into the 21st century. There are so many figures of speech that get passed down through the generations without any thought to where they came from.

I thought it was time to dig into a few of them and find out why our parents and grandparents are still embarrassing us with them in 2020.

“What’s new in the motor pool?”

Let’s dig in to this one from my introduction. The problem is that there isn’t much to unearth. A motor pool could possibly be referring to a group of vehicles used for military personnel, most likely in the days of World War II.

The saying then seems to originate from a time period in the early to mid-20th century, right in line with my grandmother’s upbringing. The way the phrase semi-rhymes is a catchy reason for saying it, and its meaning translates to how a group of people are doing while working with one another or hanging out in some way.

Its purpose is one of the most versatile you could ever think of, as asking someone how they’re doing can always be spiced up with any number of words and terminologies from cultures all around the world.

“Turn on the boob tube.”

The slang terminology for television has always fascinated me. It would appear that the word “boob” does not mean a woman’s breast in this case, but rather “foolish” or “silly”. The word “tube” has been in American vernacular since the 1950’s to refer to the TV set. You combine them, and you get boob tube.

The reason this phrase is outdated and not used as much now is because of the obvious influx of technology that we use on an everyday basis that has gone much further than just the television set. Computers, video games, smart phones, and more have made humanity hooked to a screen of some kind for most hours of the day, and the television is no longer the only screen stared at for hours.

Decades and decades later though, too much TV is still considered bad for your cognitive abilities and other functioning later on in life. Watching this medium takes you away from your time to exercise and get some movement, both mentally and physically. The phrase will live on as long as people consume too much of the boob tube.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Perhaps one of the most enduring phrases in our vernacular, I can’t really add much to this one that hasn’t already been discussed, yet it would be a disservice to not put it in the article.

The sentence comes from a Welsh proverb, and there is no proof that an apple a day actually keeps you from having to see the doctor any more than a person who does not eat one daily.

I personally feel that this thought should be used much more ambiguously than it is. Think of it instead as a call to eat any number of more healthy fruits and vegetables than potato chips and pizza slices. A specific diet that fits your nutritional needs absolutely will keep you from having health complications and having to see a medical specialist as often.

“I busted a gut!”

I think this one is still known to most people of all ages, but even if not, context clues would give it away to someone who doesn’t understand.

An exaggeration on the effects of laughing too hard, you obviously would have a difficult time actually hurting your stomach from this act. Still, hyperbole has always been a great way to get your point across about anything in life, and the pain you often feel in your sides after a good cackle is unmatched.

Origin of the phrase is unknown even after much study done, but it probably came about sometime in the 1900’s, so it’s not as old as you may think. I also feel kind of jealous of older generations that they had this phrase while we just have acronyms like “lmao”.

Photo by R.D. Smith on Unsplash

“Hold your horses”

It’s assumed that this phrase was probably started back when riding horses to your destination was the only way to get around the countryside. Cars were not yet invented, but that doesn’t mean people didn’t speed out of their home on horseback.

The definition of the term is now very broad and metaphorical, as it could mean to slow down, have patience or to think something over for longer and not be hasty.

This has to be one of the oldest sayings in the article, proving the ways that we as people pass language and expressions on long after their original time period. Knowledge expands when we learn from the past and expand on it, creating new definitions for what we mean.