Origins of common American English expressions
Icame across two really good articles in the Voice of America’s “Learning English” program called“Words and Their Stories” and thought to share them with my readers. Both articles present interesting etymological excursions into popular American idiomatic expressions. Although the expressions you will read below started as uniquely American English expressions they are now widely used all around the world.
The first article was initially broadcast on June 3, 2017 and published on VOA’s website under the title “Shark! Dangerous in the Water and in English.” It was written by VOA’s Anna Matteo.
The second article about the origins of the word “deadline,” which is edited here for space, was also written by VOA’s Anna Matteo for the VOALearning English program. First published on May 27, 2017, it was originally titled “Deadline: A Common Word from the Civil War.” Enjoy:
On this weekly show, we tell about commonly used American expressions. By knowing these expressions, you can improve your ability to speak and understand American English.
Today, we go deep into the high seas to meet one of the most feared hunters in the ocean - the shark!
Sharks are large, usually gray saltwater fish. Unlike other creatures, they have a skeleton made of cartilage, not bones.
Sharks also have sharp teeth. They are known for being dangerous and eating whatever they want.
That’s in the water. On land, Americans use the word “shark” in a number of expressions. It’s no surprise that they all suggest some form of danger.
The word shark can be used to describe someone who is tricky and uses other people.
“Loan shark”:An example of this is the term loan shark. Loan sharks are people, not fish. They loan money at very high interest rates to others who need the money badly.
“Shark”:A “shark” can also be someone who is very good at something. However, they often use their skill to trick others. Sometimes we use this version of “shark” as a verb.
“Pool shark”: For example, let’s say you are skilled at playing the game of pool, also known as pocket billiards. In fact, you never lose a game. One night, you go to a pool hall and act like you are not a good player. You miss shot after shot on purpose. You invite another person to play a game. You play against them and lose. Then, you ask them to give you another chance. Not only that, you offer them money if they beat you a second time. The opponent happily accepts and, to be fair to you, makes the same offer. But you defeat them and win all the money.
In a situation like this, you are considered a pool shark and have “sharked” your opponent. But you had better leave. As at the beach, sharks are also not popular in a pool hall.
“Swimming with sharks”:It goes without saying that sharks, whether in the water or on land, can be dangerous.
If you are swimming with sharks in the ocean, you might be in serious danger. And if you are swimming with sharks on land, you are spending time with the wrong crowd.
Let’s go back to the pool hall and our story about the pool shark. Imagine that the people whose money you won are not the nicest. They are criminals who are now angry at you for winning their money. You could say, based on this example, you are swimming with sharks.
“Sharks are circling”:If the sharks are circling, then someone is in danger and their enemies are preparing for the kill. When sharks smell blood in the water, they come and circle the wounded animal. The same can be said for people.
Let’s say you are at work and experience bad luck on a project or two. You are in danger of losing your job. Your co-workers may smell blood in the water. You could say the sharks have started circling. In this example, your mistakes are the blood and the sharks are your co-workers.
“Shark bait”:On the other hand, someone who is shark bait is not dangerous -- just the opposite. Shark bait is one way of describing a person who swims in the ocean alone. For people who live at the beach, shark bait can also be an expression for someone who gets sunburned easily because they are not used to the bright sun.
But for everyone else, shark bait describes someone who is unsuspecting and easy to trick. Two great words that mean “shark bait” are naïve and gullible.
“Jump the shark”:Now, to jump the shark is one of those idioms that doesn’t [sic] make much sense unless you know about its roots.
The expression “jump the shark” comes from the American television show “Happy Days.” This TV series was first broadcast in 1974 and continued until 1984.
In 1977, Fonzie -- the show’s most popular character -- jumped over a shark while waterskiing. It was a silly story. And years later, TV critics said this jumping the shark program was the beginning of the decline of “Happy Days.”
So, when Americans say something has “jumped the shark,” they mean it used to be popular or of high-quality, but no longer is. We also use this expression to describe something that has become silly or has no connection to reality. This expression usually refers to a TV show or the career of an artist or writer.
Not everyone believes that Pablo Picasso’s art jumped the shark later in his career. But some critics think that it did.
I hope we haven’t jumped the shark with today’s Words and Their Stories.
Now, we use the word “deadline” everywhere. People shopping for a home might have a deadline for offering a bid on a house. Students have deadlines on their homework and reports. There are deadlines for paying taxes, applying for college and accepting membership to a club. Many things have deadlines. When you are under a deadline you can feel pressure. This is especially true if it’s a tight deadline. A tight deadline means there is not much time to get something done.
Origin of the word “deadline” Now, I have used this word probably thousands and thousands of times. But I honestly never thought about why “dead” and “line” came together to mean a time limit. It might sound very strange to an English learner: dead + line = time limit.
Deadline comes from Civil War prisons. A “do-not-cross” line circled these prison. Guards were told to shoot and kill any prisoner who might “touch, fall upon, pass over, under or across the said ‘dead line.’”
The Online Etymology Dictionary says, this quote comes from the trial of a man name Henry Wirz, a commander of a Confederate prison called Fort Sumter.
Wirz, a Swiss-born Confederate soldier, was tried and executed on October 31, 1865. He was found guilty of treating Union prisoners inhumanely and for killing some unlawfully. But his trial was very controversial.
According to a Report of the Secretary of War, dated October 31, 1865, Wirz established a ‘dead line’ around the prison. He instructed prison guards “to fire upon and kill any of the prisoners” who might touch, fall upon or pass over the dead line.
By 1920, the word “deadline” worked its way into the American news media industry. It means the time by which a writer must complete a story for publication.
Now, we use the word “deadline” everywhere. People shopping for a home might have a deadline for offering a bid on a house. Students have deadlines on their homework and reports. There are deadlines for paying taxes, applying for college and accepting membership to a club. Many things have deadlines.
When you are under a deadline you can feel pressure. This is especially true if it’s a tight deadline. A tight deadline means there is not much time to get something done.
Some people do not like tight deadlines. Those people might say they do not work well under deadlines.
If you say you have a deadline hanging over their head, you are worrying about meeting your responsibility on time. Nobody likes anything hanging over their head!
Some people work very well under deadlines. They meet their deadlines with no problem. If you are this kind of person, you can call yourself deadline-driven. This means that you like deadlines and are successful at meeting them. Employers like to see this on a resume.