Today I thought it would be nice to sit back, take it easy, and look at a few items from the Merriam-Webster article: When Pigs Fly and Other Barnyard Idioms. I didn’t write most of this, but I thought it was interesting. My text here is blue, while M-W’s text is in black. There are many more idioms in the previously mentioned article.
I’m starting here, with the one I hadn’t heard, but that made me laugh out loud:
Talk the Hind Leg off a Donkey
Definition – to talk for a long time
As is the case with many of our farming idioms, the animal referenced is interchangeable with any one of a number of others. There is nothing special about a donkey’s leg, that it may be talked off; any number of other animals have legs that may be similarly removed.
Bring Home the Bacon
Definition – to earn the money that is needed to live
While many similar idioms have numerous slight variations, bacon appears to be the overwhelming favorite type of foodstuff to bring home as a linguistic indicator of one’s ability to provide. There is no evidence whatsoever, for instance, for the fixed use of bring home the rump roast.
Put All One’s Eggs in One Basket
Definition – to risk all one has on the success or failure of one thing
The egg lends itself well to idioms, some of which have survived better than others. The success of each phrase’s survival seems to be unpredictable; teach your grandmother to suck eggs is still pretty common, even though very few grandmothers are doing this… Put all one’s eggs in one basket (and assorted variants) has been in use for over three hundred years, and it looks like it will stick.
Have a Cow
Definition – to become very angry, upset, etc.
This idiom is perhaps best known as a catchphrase of Bart Simpson, the lovable rapscallion of the television show The Simpsons (he is frequently heard admonishing others to not have a cow). Have a cow predates The Simpsons, having been in use since the middle of the 20th century. It is thought to have come from the earlier British expression to have kittens (”to become very nervous or upset about something”).
Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
[KC – I feel like this horse is giving me the side-eye. I guess I offended him by calling him Fluffy the Snow Eater.]
Definition – to look in a critical way at something that has been given to one
Why should one not look a gift horse in the mouth? Because it might mean that you are examining the animal’s teeth to see how old it is, and that is considered rude. Earlier versions of this idiom often were some form of “don’t look at a gift (or given) horse’s teeth.”
Get One’s Goat
Definition – to make one angry or annoyed
Sometimes the goat is simply got, and sometimes it is got up; sometimes it is just a goat, and sometimes it is a nanny goat. We’d like to say that no actual goats were angered in the creation of this idiom, but to be honest we really aren’t sure, as the etymology is obscure. [KC – Not to be confused with GOAT (greatest
of all time).]
Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications
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