Chips on a Sandwich | no. 26 | IDIOM ORIGIN
Idiom: a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual.
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON: A rare occurrence. Every 2.7 years two full moons squeeze into one month-- but they are not blue. An amateur astronomer in the 1940s mislabeled the phenomenon and the idiom was born.
COOL AS A CUCUMBER: Calm and composed. The inside of a cucumber stays about 20 degrees cooler than the ambient temperature. Perhaps this inspired the expression?
THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER: Anything is possible. "Why then the world’s mine oyster, Which I with sword will open.” From Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor. Just one of the many idioms credited to the playwright.
A WILD GOOSE CHASE: A foolish attempt at something unattainable. Shakespeare often gets credit for this one too (one of Mercutio's lines in Romeo and Juliet) but historians think otherwise: Originally, a “wild goose chase” was a horse race in which a leader would head off into a field and make an especially challenging, winding course. A second rider would follow the first rider's steps and then a third, fourth and so on.
A Giggle Gaggle of Geese | Eva-Maria Albrecht-Hoedeman
HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: An unofficial piece of information. Also, a song recorded by Gladys Knight & The Pips in 1967 (and then 20 years later by cartoon raisins). The expression was first recorded in a US dictionary in 1852 referring to telegraph lines-- used to send long-distance messages-- which resembled coiled tendrils of grapevines.
