Say what? How in the world did some of our expressions come about?

I remember using an expression when I grew up, “They live ‘catty corner’ from us.”  Some of us may even have said “kitty corner.” How in the world did that expression come about? Well, research reveals that the expression means “diagonally opposite” and is a misspelling of the French word “quatre” (“four”) attached to the word “corner.” Go figure.

Then there’s “catawampus,” another old word that means “askew” (which we don’t use much anymore, either). To say something is catawampus or askew means that something is not in a level or straight position — the picture on the wall is crooked.

How about “doohickey”? Well, that is a cool word devised to use for anything the speaker can’t recall or doesn’t know. For example, “He used this doohickey to fix the car.” I found out that you can also use “doodad,” “thingy,” “thingamajig,” “thingamabob,” “whachamacallit,” even “gizmo.” No wonder my Korean friends are confused when I break into slang expressions like these! (One could say they are flabbergasted: astonished or greatly surprised.)

Another expression we use is, “Close, but no cigar.” It became popular at carnival games when you tossed the ball but didn’t knock over the bottles. Cigars were given as prizes many years ago. To say things should start “at the drop of a hat” refers to back in the 1800s when horse races were started with a drop of a hat — no gates or bells.

The full article is available in our e-Edition. Click here to subscribe.