This English expression is commonly used in both written and spoken language as a metaphor rather than in a literal sense.
Meaning
The expression is used to denote that someone does not want to make a choice between two things and thus is remaining neutral. It is often used in the context of someone being told that they have to make a decision and “stop sitting on the fence.” It can often also refer to the act of not taking of a side in an argument in order to remain on good terms with both parties.
Etymology
The expression is said to date back to the Revolutionary War when a judge had not committed to either the Revolutionaries or the Loyalists. George Washington was then said to have asked one of the judge’s slaves which way he was leaning and the slave is said to have replied in saying “until my master knows which is the strongest group, he’s staying on the fence.” It is said that Washington found this reply so apt and amusing that he began using it himself and thus it came into frequent use.
Example
An example of the usage of this expression in spoken language can be found in a quote by previous Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George; “he has sat on the fence so long that the iron has entered his soul.”
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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 is a commonly used English expression which has been used for many centuries. It does not relate to bushes and is used as a metaphor.
Meaning
The expression is usually said to someone to tell them that they are avoiding the main topic and not speaking directly about the important issue. It is often used when someone feels the other person is too embarrassed or uncomfortable to talk about what they need to be discussing.
Etymology
The expression can be dated back to 1440 in the medeival poem Generydes – A Romance in Seven-line Stanzas which writes “Butt as it hath be sayde full long agoo, some bete the bussh and some the byrdes take.” The expression derives from the fact that in bird hunts some of the participants roused the birds by beating the bushes and enabling others, to catch them in nets. So therefore the “beating about the bush” was the preamble to the main event, which was the capturing of the birds. The phrase is used with the words “about” and “around” interchangeably and the general rule is that it is used with “about” in American English whilst it is more commonly used with the word “around” in British English.
Example
An example of the usage of this expression can be found in Albert Camus’ novel The Fall which writes “Let’s not beat around the bush; I love life — that’s my real weakness. I love it so much that I am incapable of imagining what is not life.”
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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, as with many others, is a metaphor using an animal to express something which relates in no way whatsoever to horses.
Meaning
The expression is used to mean that something has been heard from an authoritative source. It generally relates to hearing it firsthand from the original source as this is the information which is the most trustworthy.
Etymology
In comparison with some English idioms which date back as far as the 15th and 16th century this expression is much more modern and dates back only to the 20th century. The earliest printed record of it comes from The Syracuse Herald newspaper in May of 1913 which reads “I got a tip yesterday, and if it wasn’t straight from the horse’s mouth it was jolly well the next thing to it.” It is suggested that the expression was first used in relation to horse racing when tips on the likely winner would be circulated around and the people who generally were the most trusted regarding this were the people who were close to the horse and knew it well; the trainers or stable workers. Therefore the idea of “from the horse’s mouth” is used to mean the advice is so solid that it is like hearing it from the horse itself. It is also suggested that it derives from the fact that trainers often lied about the age of their horse in races and that the only way to tell the age of a horse was to look in their mouth as their teeth would be a reliable indicator of their real age.
Example
An example of the usage of this expression can be found in P.G. Wodehouse’s short story in The Strand magazinewhich writes “The prospect of getting the true facts — straight, as it were, from the horse’s mouth — held him fascinated.”
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 very old-fashioned and rarely used in daily conversations but can be found is much 20th century literature.
Meaning
The expression is used to ask someone what they are thinking about. Generally it is asked to someone who looks as though they are deep in thought.
Etymology
It is suggested that this expression originated from Thomas More’s book Four Last Things which was published in 1522. The book is a book of meditations about death and at one point we find the line “As it often happeth that the very face sheweth the mind walking a pilgrimage, in such wise that, not without some note and reproach of such vagrant mind, other folk suddenly say to them, A penny for your thought.” This is the earliest record of the expression in print although it is suggested that it may have been used orally before this date. The phrase didn’t become to be used commonly until it was published in Heywood’s 1547 book The Proverbs and Epigrams of John Heywood. The idea behind the proverb was that someone was so interested in what another person was thinking that they would have been willing to pay to find out.
Example
An example of the usage of this idiom can be found in the title of an article in The Guardian which reads “Penny for your thoughts: Could micro-payments save the media industry?” In this context it is used to suggest that the idea that micro-payments could save the media industry is something which we should think about.
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...
