By: Charles Bowen Before we get started here, let me acknowledge that one man's idiom is another man's cliche. Let me also send out warmest regards to copy editors everywhere who religiously zap out those phrases like "close but no cigar," "face the music," and "raining cats and dogs."
Still, though, don't you wonder where these sometimes ancient bits of conversational shorthand got started? What is it in the human psyche that loves a bit of blarney? We can't just do well; we have to live high on the hog. A bad guy isn't just arrested; he's caught red-handed. Your Uncle Ned isn't merely rich; he's positively well-heeled. And Aunt Bess isn't simply having a good time; the old girl is having a field day.
Sure, you don't want to surrender yourself to these verbal geegaws in your copy, but any writer profits from understanding the nuisances of the native tongue. A resource called IdiomSite.com has begun collecting concise explanations concerning the origins of our weirder words and expressions. I'm hoping it will grow over time -- there's still much room for additions -- but it is off to grand start.
To check it out, visit
www.idiomsite.com, where a simple introductory page lets you browse a hyperlinked list of the idioms it has collected so far. Click on any phrase to see what it has on file.
Some are simply brief definitions. "Backseat driver. Originating from the habit that some people have of giving unwanted advice to car drivers, this idiom means someone who criticizes from the sidelines."
Other entries supply interesting historical side trips. For the entry on "bullpen," the site has a couple of curious guesses. "One possibility," says the site, "is that in the 1900s relievers would warm up near the outfield fence, where there were signs for Bull Durham Tobacco. The picture of the bull was associated with the pitchers, who were usually the largest and strongest members of the team, and it may have started this way."
Don't like that explanation? Well, another, "perhaps somewhat more likely, possibility" comes from late-arriving fans, says the site. "After the game had started, tickets would be sold at a discount. These late arriving fans with cheap tickets would be herded into a roped-off, standing-room-only area in foul territory. Because the fans were herded in like cattle, the area was known as the bullpen." As early as 1877, according to IdiomSite,
The Cincinnati Enquirer used "bullpen" to describe this practice. The name for this area of foul territory stuck, and "later when relief pitchers became part of the game, they used this area of foul territory to warm up. After that, the term bullpen stuck to relievers," the site observes.
While the IdiomSite might be only marginally useful for your research and editing needs, it could be a dandy subject for a Net-related column or feature. Meanwhile, here are some related Web sites of interest:
1. Slangsite (
http://www.slangsite.com) dedicates itself to tracking the latest in slang. Here's where you'll find out about "hopdoggies" -- fans of hip-hop music -- and all kinds of other, uh, bammin' topics. Some of this slang is simply brilliant. My favorite? "Trafficated," as in, "I was late because the highway was so trafficated."
2. The Ultimate Silicon Valley Slang Page (
http://www.sabram.com/Slang/slang.html) is a fun, searchable site devoted to the verbiage of The Valley, enabling you to say things like, "Doncha hate it when some Code 18 makes you miss the Nerd Bird?" Translation: Code 18: Any user error (referring to the 18 inches from human to computer screen). Nerd Bird: a weekday flight from Texas back home to the Valley, so-called because it's popular among engineers and programmers.
3. The Totally Unofficial Rap Dictionary (
http://www.rapdict.org) has been a cyberspace authority on the language of rap music since 1992.
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