“Knock on Wood & Kick the Bucket” and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions (Pt. 11)

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories. And we tell stories about everything here on this show. And up next, we continue with our recurring series about the curious origins of everyday sayings. Here to join us again is Andrew Thompson, as he continues to share another slice from his Ultimate Guide to Understanding These Mini Mysteries of the English Language.

“It’s a funny old world” is an expression indicating an acceptance of or resignation to a situation, and it was first used in the 1934 comedy film, You’re Telling Me? That film starred W.C. Fields, and at one point he says, “It’s a funny old world. A man is lucky if he gets out alive.” The popularity of Fields quickly made the expression commonplace. It has been quoted ever since, most notably by the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher after her decision to quit politics in 1990. Alluding to the fact that she had never lost an election in her life, yet had been forced to stand down, she said, “It’s a funny old world, isn’t it?” “It’s all Greek to me” means unable to understand something or something doesn’t make sense, and it originates from the medieval Latin proverb, which means ‘it is Greek; it cannot be read.’ The phrase was used by monk scribes at the time as they copied manuscripts in monastic libraries. Knowledge of the Greek language was dwindling, and very few people could read it. The expression is yet another one that was brought into widespread usage by Shakespeare in his 1599 play, Julius Caesar, which contains the line, “but for my own part, it was Greek to me.” The expression “John Hancock,” to mean a signature, derives from the famous American merchant and statesman who lived from 1737 to 1793. He was Governor of Massachusetts and President of the Second Continental Congress, and he was one of the men, obviously, who signed the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. He had a very flamboyant signature, and it’s by far the largest on the document and is nearly five inches long. Because of that, his name became synonymous with any signature, and it’s said when he signed the document, he said, “There, I guess King George or John Bull will be able to read that without his spectacles.” A “kangaroo court” is a mock court that disregards due legal process, and that expression originated with the California Gold Rush in 1849. Crime at the time was common, and there were many illegal gold prospectors who seized the mining claims of others. They were known as claim jumpers. The gold mines had a lawless atmosphere, but informal courts were set up to dispense a rough-and-ready form of justice to the claim jumpers. There was a large contingent of Australian prospectors seeking their fortune in California at the time, and this, coupled with the reference to jumping, gave birth to the naming of the kangaroo court. The term then spread and was used for any sort of mock tribunal. The common expression “keep it up” means to continue doing something and is often used as a form of encouragement, and it dates from the 1700s. It originated from the game of badminton. The idea of the game is to hit the small piece of rubber attached with feathers, known as a shuttlecock, over a high net using a small tennis-style racket. The shuttlecock must not hit the ground at any time, and if it does, the point is lost. Spectators at badminton events, when the game first started, would often shout “keep it up” during the rallies, and the phrase soon came to mean any form of encouragement. “Keeping up with the Joneses” means striving to match your neighbor in terms of possessions and wealth, and that expression originated from a popular comic strip that was published in The New York Globe. It began in 1913 and ran for 28 years, bolstered by a 1915 cartoon film adaptation that played in cinemas throughout America. It was written by Arthur Popmand and chronicled his experiences of living in suburbia. Jones was a common surname at the time and was meant as a generic term for neighbors. Years later, Maman wrote, “We’d been living way beyond our means in our endeavor to keep up with the well-to-do class. I also noticed that most of our friends were doing the same. I decided it would make good comic strip material.” “To kick the bucket” means to die, and it is sometimes said to originate from the theory that when people hang themselves, they stand on a bucket with a noose around their neck and then kick the bucket away. However, a more likely explanation comes from the slaughtering of animals. In the 18th century, the wooden beam that was used to hang animals up by their feet for slaughter was called a “bucket.” As the animals were killed, they would struggle and spasm their feet, kicking the “bucket.” “The kiss of death” means an action that will lead to certain failure, and that expression began with the Bible and the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. In the Book of Matthew, Judas kisses Jesus on the cheek as a way of identifying him to the Roman soldiers. As a result of that kiss, Jesus was arrested and crucified. This practice found its way to the Mafia bosses of Sicily. A kiss from the Don meant the person would soon be killed. Originally known as a “Judas kiss,” the expression was changed in the 1940s. “To knock off work” means to finish work at the end of the day, and that expression began with the American slave trade. In the early 19th century, riverboats transported enslaved people to and from the plantations. These boats were rowed by the enslaved people themselves to keep the men rowing. In unison, a drummer would beat out the rhythm on a block of wood. When it was time to change shifts, he would knock off a distinctive hit to signify it was time to stop. This was later used in English factories when knocking a mallet on a wooden bench indicated the end of a shift. If someone says “knock on wood,” they’re expressing a wish that something will or will not occur. Sometimes phrased as “touch wood,” it’s an expression that dates back to the ancient Druids. They were a race that inhabited England before the Romans, and they worshiped trees, in particular oaks, and held the firm belief that protective spirits lived within trees. They believed trees were sources of good and warded off evil spirits. People in need of good luck would go and touch a tree, and others actually wore small pieces of oak on necklaces so the wood was always in contact with the skin. The expression became commonplace in the 1850s, and Winston Churchill once said that he always liked to be within arm’s length of a piece of wood. “To knock the spots off” something means to beat easily or completely outdo, and it began in America in the mid-1800s. Carnivals were commonplace all over the country at the time, and the most popular sideshow was the shooting gallery. All comers would test their marksmanship skills, and the most used target was a playing card, the face of which had spots or marks on it to indicate the suit or value of the card. The object was to shoot through all the spots and remove as many as possible. Anyone who could knock all the spots off a card would win the major prize. “To know the ropes” means to be well versed in something, and it has nautical origins and started with the early sailing vessels of the 1600s. They were controlled by many ropes and knots, which were all connected in a complicated web. Sailors had to learn the intricate rigging required to raise, lower, and maneuver the sails in order to speed up, slow down, and change direction. The ropes were in constant use, and to fully master these tasks took years of experience. It was only then that a sailor could claim to “know the ropes.” “To knuckle down” means to diligently apply oneself, and that expression originated with the game of marbles. A marble, also known as a “taw,” is held between a crooked index finger and flicked by the thumb. It is an essential rule of the game that the knuckle of the index finger must be placed down on the ground before taking a shot. The knuckle must also be placed in the exact position that the player’s previous marble landed. A player breaking these rules will be quickly told to concentrate and “knuckle down.” A “lame duck” is an ineffective person or business or a weakling, and that expression dates from the mid-1700s and began in the financial world. It originated with the London Stock Exchange and applied to those who were bankrupt or could not pay their debts. They were forced to waddle out of the Exchange Alley in disgrace, like lame ducks. The first known mention of the term was in writing by Horace Walpole’s 1761 letter, when he wrote, “Do you know what a bull and a bear and a lame duck are?” The expression transferred to America in reference to ineffectual politicians by the mid-1800s.

And a special thanks to Greg Hangler for the production on the piece, and a special thanks to Andrew Thompson for this series on the curious origins of everyday sayings: The story of the English language, or at least its curious sayings and phrases. Here are Our American Stories.