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    Who Said That?: The Stories Behind Familiar Expressions
    Who Said That?: The Stories Behind Familiar Expressions
    Who Said That?: The Stories Behind Familiar Expressions
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    Who Said That?: The Stories Behind Familiar Expressions

    By J. Ajlouny

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    About this ebook

    Who Said That? provides an entertaining and authoritative reference for the origins and meanings of our common figures of speech.


    • Who said 100+ famous expressions?

    • Who really said them?

    • What did they actually say?

    • What did they actually mean?

    • Why did they say them that way?

    • Who repeated what was said?



    Surprisingly true, sometimes strange, always fascinating, the stories about whence came these expressions will entertain, educate, and even amaze you.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFresh Ink Group
    Release dateJan 6, 2018
    ISBN9781936442706
    Who Said That?: The Stories Behind Familiar Expressions

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      Book preview

      Who Said That? - J. Ajlouny

      Index

      Introduction

      John Bartlett (1820–1905) rendered a great service to the English-speaking world when his Familiar Quotations was first published in Boston in 1855. So mixed was the reaction that he was compelled to revise, supplement, and re-edit it three times before his next major work, a concordance of the works of Shakespeare, was published in 1894. During those intervening years he and his work were the subject of much debate, some praise and a good deal of criticism. The major thrust of the critical remarks was that he included obscure quotes while neglecting the more popular expressions of the day.

      Bartlett’s reluctance to include colloquial expressions rested upon two points. First, he sought to distance his work from the hugely successful Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) collected by his namesake, John Russell Bartlett (1805–1886) of Rhode Island. Second, Bartlett sought to develop a useful work that satisfied his own penchant for inquiry into classical literature. He thus set about collecting a list of formal quotations that he thought should be familiar to the average educated American. His purpose was not to develop a reference work; rather, he sought to create a vast summary of recorded western thought, a book that readers could cuddle up with when the desire to commune with Archimedes or Zola struck them. But, as we shall see, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.

      Good quotes are popular, or should I say, popular quotes are good, because they are a nifty way to say something that frequently needs to be said. They are handy expressions that are useful in a wide variety of circumstances. Yet they have become so familiar to us that we fail to ponder their authors or the context in which they were first written or uttered. This collection of popular quotations and the circumstances of their seminal publication is a modest attempt to remedy this neglect.

      Take for example, You’ve hit the nail on the head. How many hundreds of times have you heard this expression? You know exactly what it means and it is difficult to imagine someone using it in error. It’s that familiar. And just as you wouldn’t think of asking your grandfather the name of his first girlfriend—not because it would be wrong but because you just never thought about it—you probably haven’t given any thought to who originated this popular expression, where and why. But as it turns out, it’s quite an interesting story.

      Who Said That? is filled with the stories of how popular quotations were given birth. But be forewarned. In many cases these tales are subject to speculation. Just as no one can credibly claim to have originated a proverb, some quotations have such a checkered past that it is impossible to trace them with utter certainty. In many instances the explanations provided here may not be the only ones. As Bartlett intended his work be one of learning, I intend this work be one of fun while learning. If it stands for anything, I would hope it fosters a sense of curiosity in the reader to question what is read and what is heard. You never know, the nugget of a fascinating tale may be soon discovered.

      This collection of stories and anecdotes about the origin of popular quotes owes its existence to my love of the writings of G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), the prodigious British journalist, essayist, novelist, playwright, literary critic, philosopher, and lecturer extraordinaire. It was at a conference dedicated to his literary tradition that this book was conceived. Though Chesterton is regarded as the second most frequently quoted writer in the English language, sadly none of his remarkable quotations have won their way into the language to be called popular. It’s a shame because his wit and epigrams are unequaled, and paradoxical.

      To John Peterson, Dale Ahlquist, Dan Krotz, Sister Bernadette Sheridan, and my fellow Chestertonians, I offer my thanks for their contrbutions, suggestions, and good cheer. To Marilyn Krol Zerlak, Tempest Moore, Berg Djelderian, Lawrence Ajlouny, Nezza Bendele, Tahira K. Ahmad, and my bookish old friend Hedger Breed, I offer my thanks for their efforts in assisting me with this task. To Stephen Geez and Ann Stewart at Fresh Ink Group, I offer my thanks for their indulgence, and to Gwen Foss I offer my special thanks for everything else. She deserves it!

      Joseph S. Ajlouny

      Detroit

      CHAPTER 1

      WHO SAID THAT?

      Quotations for Which the Source Is Not Widely Known

      Leave no stone unturned.

      Euripides (c.485–406 BCE)

      Greek playwright Euripides is ranked with Aeschylus and Sophocles as the greatest of Greek dramatists. He prospered at the court of Archelaus, king of Macedonia, and it is said he won first prize in five dramatic contests. His tragedy Herakleidae contains the expression turn every stone, which over time has metamorphosed into the common expression we hear today.

      Necessity is the mother of invention.

      Plato (427–347 BCE)

      The political discourse of Greek philosopher Plato is legendary. The famous statement appears in Book II of his masterpiece, The Republic (c.375 BCE). The sage’s premise is that necessity is the creator of the ideal state, one which would administer justice, uphold the law and provide a stable society whose individuals could prosper to the best of their capabilities. The original quote translates as, The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention. The folk process has expanded upon Plato’s wisdom to produce the common saying, Necessity is the mother of invention and peril is the father.

      A friend in need is a friend indeed.

      Titus Maccius Plautus (c.255–184 BCE)

      Roman playwright Plautus’ comedy Epidicus is the first known source of this ancient saying, which appears in the original as, A friend in need is the finest thing a man can have. The irony is that the speaker, Periphanes, is in the process of being fooled by his own slave. Ordered to find him a girl, the slave, hoping to earn more money, brings in a young woman whom he claims is his daughter. Later, he sells her for another girl who turns out to be Periphanes’ long-lost daughter. The only happy person in the end of the play is the hapless Periphanes, who remains blissfully ignorant of the machinations of his devious slave.

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