This English expression is used commonly as a metaphor in both spoken and written language.
Meaning
The expression is used to denote that an attempt has failed and thus that it is time to start all over again. It is another way of saying “to go back to square one.”
Etymology
The first recorded usage of this expression is fairly recent, dating back to 1941 in an edition of The New Yorker. AnAmerican artist named Peter Arno captioned his cartoon which depicted a crashed plane with a man dressed in a suit walking away from it and stating “well, back to the drawing board.”
The idea behind the expression derives from the fact that a “drawing board” is something used by architects on which they make plans and sketch their initial ideas. Thus the idea of “going back to the drawing board” in a more metaphorical context relates to the idea of having to start again and come up with different initial plans.
Example
An example of this expression in use can be found in Dan Brown’s Deception Point “In my mind, the men and women of NASA are history’s modern pioneers. They attempt the impossible, accept failure, and then back to the drawing board while the rest of us stand back and criticise.”
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Should I be pleased to be described as “the laughing stock?”
publié le 4 June
Have you ever been described as "the laughing stock?" Do you want to know if this is a compliment or not? If this is the case then keep reading and th...
What does it mean if something happens at “the eleventh hour?”
publié le 2 June
The English idiom, "at the eleventh hour" is often used in conversation. It can seem rather confusing if you do not have prior knowledge of what it me...
This English expression is very commonly used, particularly in general day-to-day conversation. If you want to find out when and how to use it, read t...
This English expression is slightly out-dated but is still used fairly frequently. It is used as a metaphor rather than relating directly to the moon.
Meaning
The expression is used to denote that something happens very rarely. Another English idiom “when pigs fly” is similar in usage although the phrase “once in a blue moon” is generally linked to things which do happen very occasionally whilst “when pigs fly” links to those things which will never happen.
Etymology
The first usage of this expression dates back to 1528 in a conversation between William Roy and Jeremy Barlowe. It can be found in an anti-clerical leaflet and reads ““Yf they say the mone is blewe/We must believe that it is true.” It is suggested that the expression links to the fact that at that time it was believed that the moon could never be blue in colour and thus the term was used in the same way as the current expression “when pigs fly.” However, more recently it has been discovered that the moon can in fact be blue in colour after a volcanic eruption and under other circumstances, although this is a rare occurrence. It is for this reason that the phrase is now used to mean “very rarely” rather than “never.”
Example
An example of the usage of this expression can be found in the title of an article in The Guardian newspaper; “Tomorrow is once in a blue moon.” This title relates literally to the blue moon but is also cleverly used in its metaphorical sense.
Ne ratez pas
Should I be pleased to be described as “the laughing stock?”
publié le 4 June
Have you ever been described as "the laughing stock?" Do you want to know if this is a compliment or not? If this is the case then keep reading and th...
What does it mean if something happens at “the eleventh hour?”
publié le 2 June
The English idiom, "at the eleventh hour" is often used in conversation. It can seem rather confusing if you do not have prior knowledge of what it me...
This English expression is very commonly used, particularly in general day-to-day conversation. If you want to find out when and how to use it, read t...
This English expression is used although it is not commonplace, particularly in spoken language.
Meaning
The expression is used to denote the act of being successful. Generally it relates to the ability to meet expectations in being good enough to compete or participate in something such as a race.
Etymology
There is no definite origin of this expression although there are many suggestions regarding why it came to be used. A number of these expressions suggest that the phrase relates to the difficulty of the literal cutting of mustard seeds which are extremely small and slippery and thus are difficult to cut up. There is however no evidence to prove that this is where the expression derives from and thus many suggest that it is came into use simply from the mispronunciation of the American expression “to cut the muster.” This expression was used in a military context when a soldier breached the rules. Therefore it does not have a positive connotation in the same way as the expression “to cut the mustard.”
Example
An example of the use of this expression can be found in a quote by British television and radio presenter Jonathan Dimbleby. He stated “until I was 21, I wasn’t going into the media. I was a professional show jumper; I was going to have a farm… Then my father died, and it changed my life. I realised I had to have a go at being a journalist to see if I could cut the mustard.”
Ne ratez pas
Should I be pleased to be described as “the laughing stock?”
publié le 4 June
Have you ever been described as "the laughing stock?" Do you want to know if this is a compliment or not? If this is the case then keep reading and th...
What does it mean if something happens at “the eleventh hour?”
publié le 2 June
The English idiom, "at the eleventh hour" is often used in conversation. It can seem rather confusing if you do not have prior knowledge of what it me...
This English expression is very commonly used, particularly in general day-to-day conversation. If you want to find out when and how to use it, read t...
This English expression is used very commonly in spoken language usually in the context of “to cost an arm and a leg.”
Meaning
The idiom is used to denote that something is very very expensive. This meaning can also be denoted through the use of several other expressions such as “to cost a bomb” or “to cost the earth” although in general “to cost an arm and a leg” is the most commonly used of these.
Etymology
The expression is a fairly modern one and the first written evidence of its usage can be dated to the year 1949 in The Long Beach Independent which reads “Food Editor Beulah Karney has more than 10 ideas for the homemaker who wants to say “Merry Christmas” and not have it cost her an arm and a leg.” It is suggested that this idiom actually derived from another idiom which is also still used commonly; “I would give my right arm for” which is used to mean that one really wants something and would do anything to get it. If this suggestion is correct then the phrase “it costs an arm and a leg” suggests that the cost is so enormous that one would not only have to give up their right arm but also a leg.
Example
An example of this expression in use can be found in a quote by the British Conservative politician Francis Maude “I want to make it very open. We’ve researched the practicalities and there are lots of innovative ways of doing it that don’t cost an arm and a leg. We’ve looked to see if there’s a way of having a very open primary election that doesn’t kill us financially.”
Ne ratez pas
Should I be pleased to be described as “the laughing stock?”
publié le 4 June
Have you ever been described as "the laughing stock?" Do you want to know if this is a compliment or not? If this is the case then keep reading and th...
What does it mean if something happens at “the eleventh hour?”
publié le 2 June
The English idiom, "at the eleventh hour" is often used in conversation. It can seem rather confusing if you do not have prior knowledge of what it me...
This English expression is very commonly used, particularly in general day-to-day conversation. If you want to find out when and how to use it, read t...
