Costa Blanca News’ weekly feature supporting local writers, in conjunction with Writers' Ink WELCOME to our Writers’ Ink group’s weekly words. We provide news, views, tips and examples of writing by authors and poets, local and beyond. Founded in 2010 b

Warm greetings,

THERE'S hardly a week goes by in literary circles – be it during group meetings or advice given on the internet, whereby writers are warned not to use clichés too often. It is sound advice, for our stories would be a jumbled mess if we did just that. BUT, there are some people who use them more liberally than others, and the odd one can be amusing or highlight some incident, although they should still be rationed. I wonder, though, how many people know the history of many such sayings? I knew of a few, how about you? The following for instance...

'As the actress said to the Bishop' is a wellknown one, usually said in a suggestive, sexual manner. Although popular in the 1940s in the RAF, it probably originated in the music hall era when comedians referred to couplings between bishops and actresses.

Another cliché: 'All tarred with the same brush', refers to the method used by farmers of marking their sheep with a brush dipped in tar as a form of branding.

While 'to beat about the bush' (to approach a matter in a round-about way) evolves from early hunting methods for catching birds. A team of men would scare birds from the bush into another team, who would either catch the birds in nets, or shoot them. It's still part of pheasant hunting today.

'Between the devil and the deep blue sea' (caught between two dangers or dilemmas) has a more elaborate and ancient history: 'To steer or sail between Scylla and Charybdis'. In Homer's Odyssey, Scylla was a six-headed monster who lived in a cavern overlooking a channel off the coast of Sicily. She seized sailors off passing ships with her six mouths. On the opposite rock, Charybdis, another monster, lived under a huge fig tree, and was also feared. In the poem, Odysseus sailed between the two perils, lost his ship in a whirlpool and the crew to Scylla. Only he survived by clinging to the fig tree… Dangerous times for cruises then...

If you want to learn more about the origins of such sayings and clichés, look for 'Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pyjamas’, published by Michael O'Mara Books Ltd.,

Before I close, I can't let the opportunity of sharing my joy pass without revealing that … on February 15, 'im indoors and I will have been married for...wait for it! SEVENTY YEARS. How about them rosy apples?! (1950. It was on a London underground train and my beau was kissing my nearest hand and whispering sweet nothings (“I like you...”) I realised, at that very moment, just how handsome he was and what kind brown eyes he had. I instinctively knew he would give me his last Rolo... and he still does! We were married on February 15, 1953, and 'It don't seem a day too much...'