Essay on Origins of Popular Sayings - 1306 Words

English is an amazing language that reflects many different cultures. Americans have many popular sayings and figures of speech that, if taken literally, make no logical sense. If you mention the phrases â€Å"white elephant,† â€Å"spill the beans,† or â€Å"to pull someone’s leg,† they make no sense unless you are familiar with the culture. The word â€Å"idiom† is used to describe these forms of speech. Idioms are considered to be part of a nation’s culture, and idioms can make learning a foreign language quite challenging. Scholars have estimated American English to contain at least 25,000 idiomatic expressions. People learning a new language must memorize the meanings of these phrases like vocabulary, because the interpretations of idioms can be†¦show more content†¦The origin of this popular saying will make you smile. In the early 1700’s an English dramatist named John Dennis created an invention that would simulate the sound of thunder in one of his theatrical productions. His play failed dismally. However, later he found that his invention was used to create the sound of thunder in another performance. Dennis was quoted as saying, â€Å"They will not let my play run, but they steal my thunder!† The phrase was overheard, passed along and became a popular saying used in the English language. â€Å"To Spill the Beans† When someone â€Å"spills the beans,† they reveal a secret unintentionally. This popular saying has its origin back in the days of ancient Greece. When people were voted into many organizations, the membership voted secretly using colored beans as counters. If one voted for the inclusion of the applicant, one would discretely drop a white bean into an opaque container. If one voted against the applicant, one would secretly drop a black or brown bean in the container. Only the officials knew the results of the voting. Occasionally, an awkward person might accidentally knock over the container, spilling the beans and revealing the results of the vote before the appointed time. This is how the phrase â€Å"spilling the beans† has come to describe someone telling a secret. â€Å"To Bite the Bullet† If you have to withstandShow MoreRelatedMusic, Blues And Ragtime1337 Words   |  6 PagesTwo of the styles of music which added to the development and birth of jazz were the blues and ragtime. I argue that Jazz as a genre was a coalition between two popular forms of music, blues and ragtime. These two genres created jazz together through their origins, musical characteristics, and large number of performers. Ragtime’s origins can be seen as a major reason towards its development of jazz. Ragtime is an art form which came from, â€Å"African spirituals, minstrel songs and marches† (Jazz film)Read MoreWhat Were the Underlying Causes of Wwi Dbq Essay899 Words   |  4 Pageswar against three European countries England, France, and Russian versus Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Friedrich Engels explains in The Origins of the First World War (Doc A) the aftermath of the Thirty Years War caused many devastating effects like famine, sickness, want and brutalizing the population and this is being compared to World War I saying that the same outcome happened in three or four years instead of thirty. World War I was caused by different factors nationalism is one of theRead MoreThe Importance Of Having A Good Name?920 Words   |  4 Pagesdistinguish his name from other sounds. So the names â€Å"Rocky† or â€Å"Gunner† are definitely on the A-list. †¢ No command-sounding names. 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However, as the founder of another famousRead MoreRap Music And Its Effects On Society1535 Words   |  7 Pagesthe name of Sugar Hill Gang and their hit single to begin the era â€Å"Rapper’s Delight† Rap was about peace, harmony and just hanging out at a party, but r=this precedent split into more violent distorted versions of the genre such as the more 1990s popular genre of â€Å"Gangsta Rap† or the more recent rap music that glorifies sexual themes, practices and criminal mischief. This violent rap music has been seen to have harmful and undesirable effects on the behavior of adolescents as seen in many academicRead MoreThe Usage Of Euphemisms And Colloquialisms1696 Words   |  7 Pagesin my home town, Kewaunee Wisconsin, and one I get very strange looks for here in North Dakota. In this paper I am going to describe to you: h ow I use balls and ballsy in conversation with my social groups and what many different meanings, the origins of the word, the overall reflection of the colloquialism along with other words that may have a hidden power. The word balls, as well as the word ballsy, can be used as a colloquialism in numerous ways and be interpreted differently in contextRead MoreEssay on Christian Beliefs in the Origins of the World511 Words   |  3 PagesChristian Beliefs in the Origins of the World â€Å"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.† A Description of Christian Beliefs About the Origins of The World Christians believe that God created the universe. In Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, we are told that God creates both the universe and everything that is in it. Thomas