Results: The Curious Origins of Common Phrases - Part 3

BEAT AROUND THE BUSH - When you hear someone say, "Don't beat around the bush" they want the other person to cut to the chase and say exactly what he means to say. First recorded in print in 1572, this idiom comes from hunting in Europe, where wealthy noblemen would not bother venturing into the bush themselves to hunt game but would send servants or hired workers in ahead of them to drive small game out of the bushes. Since some of the animals were perfectly capable of defending themselves with tooth and claw, the servants would not go directly into the bushes where an animal might be hiding, but instead would use sticks or poles to beat or poke around the outside of the bush in order to startle the animal out of its hiding place. The same method was used to startle birds resting in the bush so that they would fly up and thus be shot by the hunters or caught in a net. This cautious and indirect approach to get to one's target gave rise to the allusion in the modern idiom. Do you ever use the phrase "beat around the bush"?

SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS - To "show your true colors" means to show yourself for who you really are, or to show your true intentions in a given situation. But what are 'colors' and how do you show them? In naval warfare of the 18th century, your 'colors' were your flags, specifically, your naval jack (the naval flag of the country which your ship was a part of). Under the Articles of War (the Royal Navy's code of conduct for nearly 400 years; discontinued in 2006), when going into battle, you were obliged to run up your colors (your naval flag), to identify the nationality of your ship. If you wished to deceive your enemy, you might run up a different flag than that which belonged to your country, perhaps to make the other ship think that you were an ally. Once you were within firing-range, you'd literally 'show your true colors' as say, a British Man-o'-War instead of a French one, and open fire on a French warship, catching its crews off-guard and gaining an advantage in battle. Do you ever use the phrase "show your true colors"?

STEAL YOUR THUNDER - Someone 'steals your thunder' when they use your ideas or inventions to their own advantage. The story behind 'stealing someone's thunder' is that of the literary critic and unsuccessful playwright, John Dennis. In 1704, Dennis's play "Appius and Virginia" was produced at the Drury Lane Theatre, London and he invented a new method of creating the sound of thunder for the production. The play soon closed, and Dennis was later startled to find his thunder method used in a production of "Macbeth." Dennis was not pleased at having his idea purloined and this account of his response was recorded by the literary scholar Joseph Spence (1699–1768) and later quoted in W. S. Walsh's Literary Curiosities, 1893: "Damn them! They will not let my play run, but they steal my thunder." Do you ever use the phrase "steal your thunder"?