Spotlight on Students: Origins and Meanings of American Idioms

This post highlights the work required of my SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology students. Students were given the opportunity to research and identify the origins and meanings of time of a specific American phrase that they selected. Several students were given the opportunity to have their exemplary work featured on the blog, and the students who provided permission have their work featured here in this and the following blog posts. Please show your appreciation for their work through the comments.

Representation of the meaning of "ball and chain".

 By: Callianne Nilges

 

The phrase “ball and chain” is something that I have heard used commonly in conversation. When I have heard it, it is generally used in a very demeaning way. I have generally heard this phrase used by men. My goal in picking this phrase was to learn how the phrase changed from its original meaning to the one that is known today. I assume that the original meaning of “ball and chain” is what I learned in history. That it was a heavy iron ball that was attached to a chain and shackled to a prisoner as a punishment. According to dictonary.com, the phrase does originally mean “a heavy metal ball secured by a chain to the leg of a prisoner to prevent escape” (“Ball and chain Definition & Meaning”). This is very different from the modern day meaning. Currently, the term is slang for “wife” (“The saying 'Ball and chain' - meaning and origin.”). Some of the earliest examples of the change in meaning of the phrase comes from a fiction book called Cutie, A Warm Mamma by Ben Hecht and Maxwell Bodenheim. This story is a satire of the censors and candor of society in the 1920s. The main character Herman Pupik hires an assistant named Cutie whom he is having an affair with. After disappearing for days, he introduces her to his wife. Cutie says, “so this is the way you have been deceiving me! Getting me to repent and repent and all the time with a ball and chain waiting for you at home.” (Hecht and Bodenheim 70). This gives insight on why wives are referred to as a “ball and chain”. Wives are viewed as something that is holding a man back from living a good, free, and fun life. I think this says a lot about our society and the way we view women and relationships.

 

Works Cited

“Ball and chain Definition & Meaning.” Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ball%20and%20chain. Accessed 27 September 2023.

Hecht, Ben, and Maxwell Bodenheim. “Cutie, A Warm Mamma.” United States: Boar's Head Books, 2 October 1924, https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/67680/pg67680-images.html. Accessed 27 September 2023.

“The saying 'Ball and chain' - meaning and origin.” The Phrase Finder, https://phrases.org.uk/meanings/54950.html. Accessed 27 September 2023.

 

Representation of the meaning of "Gung ho"

By: Molly Suthoff

 

“Wholeheartedly enthusiastic and loyal,” gung-ho is a term that may go over one person’s head and resonate beautifully with another (“Gung-ho Definition”). I specifically chose this term because I have seen it used numerous times and always wondered how it made its way into everyday usage in English. Before thoroughly researching the word, I knew that it had some relation to being happy and expressing that happiness through being ecstatic or eager. I also thought that it was a positively connotated word; I have since learned that it is not necessarily always positively connotated. With origins in Chinese, the term gung-ho when properly translated actually means “industrial cooperative” (Kung). In a brief summary, it came into the English lexicon thanks almost entirely to one man, U.S. Marine Evans Fordyce Carlson. Stationed to observe Chinese soldiers, Carlson watched them work together in a way they called gung-ho. Their way of working together was united by one idea. According to NPR, after watching the soldiers Carlson supposedly associated the word gung-ho with teamwork, and he is later quoted as saying that it meant to work in harmony (Kung). I think this a good time to mention that throughout the article from NPR, it is continually pointed out that gung-ho does NOT mean to work in harmony. I would also like to note that there were at least two other sources I viewed that had opening lines stating that gung-ho would very roughly translate to “work harmony.” This is not true. Once Carlson began to lead his own battalion, he had begun to use his motto of gung-ho, and his battalion began to call themselves the “Gung-ho Battalion.” As the word became popularized outside of the battalion thanks to the movie Gung Ho! people started to associate it with being overly enthusiastic and eager (A&E Television Networks). Its meaning today is still similar to the later meaning it took on, extreme enthusiasm. Anyone who is gung-ho is very eager to do something. When using this term today to describe a marine, it is positively connotated. When describing someone chasing an idea or dream, you can presume there is a bit of a negative connotation to the word.

Works Cited

A&E Television Networks. “Watch Origins of 'Gung Ho!' Clip | HISTORY Channel.” The HISTORY Channel, https://www.history.com/videos/origins-of-gung-ho.

“Gung-ho Definition & Meaning.” Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gung-ho. Accessed 26 September 2023.

Kung, Jess. “What Does The Word Gung-Ho Really Mean? : Code Switch.” NPR, 18 October 2019, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/10/18/406693323/the-long-strange-journey-of-gung-ho. Accessed 26 September 2023.

Representation of "caught red handed"

By: Cooper Feeler

 

The phrase I choose is "caught red handed".  I picked this phrase because I hear it a lot, but I never knew the meaning or where it came from which piqued my interest making me want to learn more. Before doing any research on the phrase I think it means to be caught in the act of doing something bad and my guess is that the phrase came from catching someone in the act of murder with their hands covered in blood. The phrase caught red handed originally came from the northern Irish province of Ulster. This phrase was based off a myth in which there was a competition to become the ruler of the province. The competition was a boat race where the first to touch the other shore would win so one of the competitors chopped off their hand and threw it to the other shore winning the competition. This phrase originally had to do with any act in which you were harming someone or something else like murder or poaching for example. Today the phrase has a slightly different meaning according to the Cambridge dictionary " it is to discover someone in the act of doing something bad or illegal". I think that as the world got more peaceful the phrase changed from describing incredibly violent acts to more everyday acts like getting caught stealing or doing something bad. I think the change of this phrase shows that are culture has moved away from incredibly violent acts into a much more tranquil culture.

 

Martin, Gary. “‘caught Red-Handed’ - the Meaning and Origin of This Phrase.” Phrasefinder, phrases.org.uk/meanings/caught-red-handed.html. Accessed 27 Sept. 2023.

“Catch Someone Red-Handed.” Cambridge Dictionary, dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/catch-red-handed. Accessed 27 Sept. 2023.