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What are the most common words in the English language?

The most common word used in written English is the, followed in order of use by of, and, to, a, in, that, is, I, it, for, and as. The most common spoken English word is I. The most common word in the King James Bible is the.

Why is relaxing a tense situation called “breaking the ice”?

Overcoming an awkward moment in either business or social circles sometimes requires a little levity to “break the ice” in order to make progress. The expression originally meant to smash the melting ice that hindered commerce during the long winter freeze. It was first used literally in its figurative modern way in 1823 when, in Don Juan, Lord Byron (1788–1824) wrote in reference to the stiff British upper class: “And your cold people are beyond all price, when once you’ve broken their confounded ice.”

How did “hightailing it” come to mean a rushed exit?

When people leave in a frantic hurry, they are “hightailing it.” The expression grew out of America’s Old West after cowboys noticed that both wild horses and deer would jerk their tails up high when frightened as they dashed to safety. The lifting of the tail by both animals was a signal to the rest of the herd that humans, and therefore danger, were near and that the creatures needed to run for their lives.

What is the origin of the expression “hail-fellow-well-met”?

“Hail-fellow-well-met” is an archaic reference to someone who is always cheerful but who is perhaps overdoing his or her enthusiasm. The expression began pleasantly enough as the medieval Scottish greeting hail, which is how the Scots pronounced heal. “Hale fellow” meant “health to you, friend.” In the sixteenth century, the expression became associated with the words buddy or mate. “Well met!” followed, meaning, “It’s good to meet you!” The two expressions became combined in a fuller phrase, “Hail-fellow-well-met,” in the late sixteenth century and is used today to suggest that a person’s exuberance is perhaps exaggerated.

Exactly What Is a Proverb?

A proverb is an ancient expression of practical truth or wisdom. Proverbs existed before books, were the unwritten language of morality, and are treasures of the oral tradition of all mankind. They offer a deep insight into the everyday domestic life of the culture of their origin and resonate as truth through all time.

Japan:	“Learning without wisdom is a load of books on the back of a jackass.”
Japan:	“Unpolished pearls never shine.”
England:	“The difference is wide that the sheets cannot decide.”
Italy:	“Better alone than in bad company.”
China:	“One picture is worth 10,000 words.” Greece: “He who marries for money, earns it.” Greece: “If you sleep with dogs, you will arise with fleas.” France: “He who makes excuses, accuses himself.” Germany: “He who remains on the floor cannot fall.” Poland: “The voice is a second face.”
Ireland:	“A smile is the whisper of a laugh.”
Native American:	“Don’t judge someone till you’ve walked a mile in their moccasins.”

Why do we say that something likely to happen soon is “in the offing”?

Something “in the offing” isn’t about to happen in the present, or even soon, but it will certainly happen before too long. Offing is an early nautical term that describes the part of the ocean most distant from the shore but still visible. So someone who is watching for a ship would first see it in the “offing” and realize that its arrival was imminent.

The phrase “in the offing” was first used during the sixteenth century and began as offen or offin.

Why is a couched insult called a “backhanded compliment”?

A compliment intended as an insult is termed a “backhanded compliment” and is directly tied to the ancient belief that the left side of the body was under the influence of the devil. A backhanded slap would generally come from the right hand of the majority of people. It is similar to the backhand stroke of tennis players who must reach across their bodies to deliver blows from the left (or evil) side. Anything delivered from the left, including a compliment, was considered sinister or devious.

The word sinister comes from sinestra, Latin for left. Seven percent of the world’s population is left-handed. Among the forty-three American presidents, the percentage of lefties is higher (12 percent). Bill Clinton (1946– ), George H.W. Bush (1924– ), Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), Gerald Ford (1913– ), and Harry Truman (1884–1972) are or were left-handed. James Garfield (1831–1881) and Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) were reportedly ambidextrous.

What is the meaning of “cut to the quick”?

“Cut to the quick” is employed in two ways. It sometimes means (a) “get to the point,” or “cut to the chase,” but more often it implies (b) “causing deep emotional pain.” The quick in both cases is the flesh of the finger beneath the nail. Either way the expression means cutting through the inconsequential to the meaningful. An example of (a) would be a combatant cutting through an opponent’s armour or clothing to get to the flesh (or point of consequence), while the meaning when used as (b) would be to cut deeply or stab through the superficial exterior (the skin) to a vulnerable part of the body.

“Cut to the quick” is related to the phrase “the quick and the dead.” Quick here comes from an old English word, cwicu, which meant “living.”

Where did the expression “bite the dust” come from?

We have probably all heard “bite the dust” for the first time while watching an old western B movie when a cowboy hero does away with a pesky varmint to impress the schoolmarm. The phrase was first used in English literature in 1750 to imply wounding or killing by satirical novelist Tobias Smollett (1721–1771) in Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, his translation of the original French novel by Alain-René Lesage: “We made two of them bite the dust and the others betake themselves to flight.” The inspiration for the expression can be traced back to the Bible in Psalm 72: “They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him and his enemies shall lick the dust.”

QUICKIES

Did You Know …

that caucus, a closed meeting of a political party to decide on policy, comes from the Algonquin word caucauasu, which means “counsellor”?

that toboggan is from the French Canadian tabagane, which is a translation of the Algonquin tobakun, meaning “sled”?

that winnebago has the same aboriginal meaning as Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, and that both mean “dirty water?”

that “down the hatch” is a sailor’s drinking expression and refers to freight disappearing in volume through the hatch leading to the storage area below a ship’s deck?

that queue is the only English word that is pronounced the same with or without its last four letters?

Why do we say “A is for effort” if effort starts with e?

When someone is given “A for effort,” it is usually a backhanded compliment meaning “even though what you did sucked, we know you gave it your best!” In elementary schools, “A for effort” is used so as not to discourage failing students or their parents. The reason A is used instead of E is found in the common A-F school grading system where there is no E: A = excellent; B = good; C = fair or average; D = poor, but just barely passing; and F = failure.

Why do we say someone is “head over heels” when in love?

When people fall “head over heels” in love, their world has been turned upside down by romance. The word fallen suggests helplessness, and the metaphorical “head over heels” is intended to expand the illusion. However, consider that having your head over your heels is, in fact, the normal standing position! You can blame American frontiersman, U.S. congressman, and Alamo martyr Davy Crockett (1786–1836), among others, for turning the phrase around. When the expression first appeared around 1350, it was “heels over head.” In his 1834 autobiography, Crockett wrote: “I soon found myself ‘head over heels’ in love with this girl.” So the phrase has been “head over heels” ever since.

What are the meanings of common Yiddish words?

Some familiar Yiddish words are: chutzpah, “audacity or boldness”; schmuck, “a jerk or a foolish idiot” (literally meaning schmok, “penis” or “family jewels”); klutz, “a clumsy person”; putz, “an unclean, stupid person”; mensch, “a good and decent human being”; l’chaim, “joyful toast to life”; schlemiel, “an inept or incompetent person”; goy, “a Gentile, a person who is not Jewish”; tochis, “rear end,” “butt”; pisher, “a male infant, a little squirt, someone of little significance” (yes the word comes from what it sounds like); shiksa, “a Gentile woman” (originally this word meant “an abomination”); and schmooze, “small talk,” usually meaning “sucking up.”

Yiddish is a Germanic language and is spoken by about three million people throughout the world. Although the word Yiddish is, in fact, Yiddish for “Jewish,” it is most likely from the German word jiddisch, an abbreviated form of yidish-taytsh or “Jewish German.” The word came to North America and entered English with immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Mazel tov is well-known for its use at the end of a Jewish wedding ceremony. Often it is thought to be Yiddish, but actually it comes from mazzl, which means “star” in Hebrew. Mazel tov is used as “congratulations,” but literally means “may you be born under a good star.” After telling someone mazel tov, it’s customary to shake hands.

Lofty Origins of Overused Phrases

“Where there’s life there’s hope.”

— Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC–43 BC)

“Time is more valuable than money.”

— Theophrastus (circa 372 BC–circa 287 BC)

“A man’s home is his castle.”

— Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634)

“Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November…”

— Richard Grafton (died circa 1572)

“Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”

— Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

“The good die young.”

— William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

“Hell is paved with good intentions.”

— Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)

How did the word moron come to mean “stupid”?

We have all been called a moron at one time or another and understood it to mean we’ve done something foolish. The reason is that in 1910 Dr. Henry H. Goddard (1866–1957) proposed the word to the American Association for the Study of the Feebleminded to describe an adult with the mental capacity (IQ below 75) of a normal child between eight and twelve years of age. A moron was, in fact, the highest proposed rating of a mentally challenged person. The two lowest ratings suggested were imbecile and idiot. These categories have been dropped by the scientific community and are no longer in use — except as an insult!

Moron is from the Greek moros, meaning “stupid” or “foolish.”

Why does the word bully have both good and bad meanings?

Today a bully is generally a description of a brute who intimidates someone weaker or more vulnerable, but in the United States the positive power of the presidency is often referred to as the “bully pulpit.” In the 1500s, the word in its positive sense entered English from the Dutch boel, meaning “sweetheart” or “brother,” but by the 1700s, the word’s meaning deteriorated when it became the popular description of a pimp who protected his prostitutes with violence.

In North America, distanced by the ocean, the word stayed closer to its positive origins and gave rise to the expression “bully for you,” meaning “admirable or worthy of praise.”

Why are rental accommodations called “digs”?

Digs comes from Australian gold prospectors who used the word diggings to describe their mining claims, which usually included makeshift lodgings. In 1893 digs first appeared as a slang term for rooms and small apartments in boarding houses that were strictly supervised by landladies who usually forbade visits by the opposite sex. Students have since adopted the word to describe the humble temporary places they call home.

Why do we say that somebody who speaks nonsense is “babbling”?

To babble means to speak foolishness. It is a verb rooted in the French and Scandinavian languages and was used to describe baby talk in the months leading up to a child’s first words. Babble has many different forms and circumstances, for example, squabble, blather, and charlatan, all of which, to some degree, mean “chattering and prattling nonsense.”

The Latin for babble is blatire. Babble or blatire is the word that blatant is derived from. It was coined by English poet Edmund Spenser (1552–1599) in The Faerie Queene in 1596 to describe a thousand-tongued beast representing slander.