Jessie: In Northern New England where the snowbanks are in retreat !
This month’s theme came to me in a dream. I swam back to consciousness with the phrase “ mad as a March hare ” floating through my brain. Bingo, I thought, madness is a perfect theme, especially for writers! Although truth be told, we will play with the word mad as well as madness as the month moves along! So first off, Wickeds, do you have an idiomatic expression, like mad as a March hare , that you use or that piques your curiosity?
Edith/Maddie: That’s a great phrase, Jessie, and a perfect theme. I’m fond of “Waste not, want not,” which can also apply to writers – never throw away a short story draft or a cut scene that didn’t fit in that book but might in another. I’ve had so much finding quirky expressions for Buck Bird, my South Lick, Indiana police chief. “That went faster than green grass through a goose, is a favorite, as is “frog-strangler” for a heavy rain.
Barb: Most people know “Mad as a hatter,” refers to the health effects of the mercury that was used by hat makers in the 19th century when making felted hats. This post got me curious about “mad as a wet hen.” Why is the hen wet and does water make hens particularly mad? It turns out that when hens on nests get broody and depressed, farmers pour water on them to snap them out of it. Good to know! I would be mad if someone poured water on me when I was a looking little down.
Liz: I’ve always wondered about the phrase “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.” This always seemed odd to me – why on earth would you have cake if you couldn’t eat it? Then I realized the literal meaning is, once you eat the cake it’s gone. I don’t know, the whole thing is just strange to me!
Sherry: When my daughter was in fifth grade, she learned that the phrase raining cats and dogs came from old England. Because cats and dogs would live up on the roof of the houses, and when it rained they’d slide off.
Julie: This is a fun trail of phrases. Mine makes no sense. My grandfather used to say “he’d kick at a football game” which the family translated to he’d see the down side to or complain about any situation. Dessert cart comes out full of goodies. Person, “no fudge?” That person would kick at a football game. I am certain that this is a malapropism that has been passed down generations.
Jessie: I love all of these! Mine, like Julie’s, is a family saying. Northern New Englanders are a flinty sort of folks, generally speaking, and traditionally don’t care much for excuses or whining. If any displays of weakness showed themselves in my family, my father would proclaim “He’d complain if they hanged him with a brand new rope”. Stern stuff, indeed!
Readers : Share your favorite quirky expression!
All Rights Reserved Book Blog