Idioms

salt of the earth

Being described by someone as ‘the salt of the earth’ is quite a compliment...it means that you are a person of great worth and reliability. The expression is Biblical in origin (Matthew 5:13), and it is believed that the use of ‘salt’ in the expression is a reference to the value of salt, which was supposedly quite a valued commodity back then!

If you are in a pickle, you are in a difficult position, or have a problem to which no easy answer can be found.

The word ‘pickle’ comes from the Dutch word ‘pekel’, meaning ‘something piquant’, and originally referred to a spiced, salted vinegar that was used as a preservative.

In the seventeenth century, vegetables like cucumbers or gherkins that were preserved took the name.

The ‘in difficulty’ meaning of the expression alludes to the idea of being as mixed up and disoriented as the pickled vegetables in the jar!

If you get your just deserts, you get what you deserve.

The word ‘deserts’, in the sense of ‘what you deserve’, has been used in English since the thirteenth century.

‘Just’, of course, means ‘fair’.

It should be noted that the pronunciation of deserts in this expression is stressed on the second syllable, as in ‘desserts’.

The spelling, however, is correct.

A desert is an arid and desolate region of land, and its use as ‘that which is deserved’ is now limited to this single phrase.

To Get The Upper Hand

If you get the upper hand, you take a dominant position.

There is still some question as to where this saying comes from, but it is generally acknowledged that the phrase originated from American children in playgrounds.

In order to determine who gets first choice of player for their teams when playing baseball, one team captain grabs the bat at the bottom, and then the other captain takes hold above the first’s hand.

Excuse my French

This phrase is used in conversation when someone swears or curses, and is a request for forgiveness for using taboo language.

Of course, both the speaker and the listener are very much aware that whatever was said was in English and not French.

The expression originates from the 19th century, and was used literally.