Bell the Cat

Photo by Lizard10979 via Flickr.

I saw a new-to-me idiom as I was reading last night:  to bell the cat.

If you bell the cat, you agree to do something quite dangerous, difficult, or impossible.

Example
Someone needs to tell the boss that $1,000 is missing from the safe.  But how are we going to bell the cat?

The phrase is said to come from a medieval fable called "The Bell and the Cat."  According to the story, a group of mice are threatened by a pesky cat who, presumably, will have them for lunch if it gets too close.  What can they do?  

(Allow me to take a few liberties and paraphrase here.)

"Why not a bell?" Mouse #1 suggests. 

"Yeah!  A bell!  That'll tell us when kitty's approaching!"

"Awesome idea!"

All the mice are on board, it seems, except for one thing:  Who's going to actually put the bell on the cat?

"Any volunteers?"

"Uh...well, gee, I'd like to, but I gotta work in the morning," says one.

"Is that the time?  I'm late for my lacrosse game.  See you guys later!" says another.

"Oh, I'm way too clumsy," says a third. "I'd mess it all up and then where would we be?"

"Are you crazy?  I'm not getting close to that cat!" a fourth exclaims.

None of the mice volunteers.

The moral of the story?  It's fine to set a goal, but make sure it's something you can realistically achieve.

I didn't find too many online sources on the idiom, though this Wikipedia entry gives some interesting background on the phrase.  Wisegeek provides some helpful context, too:

Historically, the saying bell the cat was often applied to political turmoil. A noble figure who successfully lead a rebellion, for example, was nicknamed belling-the-cat. Some scholars have also used the phrase as a point of comparison between democracy and other forms of political rule.

Bell the cat can be referenced for a number of more personal situations as well. A high career aspiration such as becoming a professional athlete or a renowned scientist could be viewed as belling the cat due to the difficulty of the objective and the numerous obstacles that may prevent its fulfillment. A task with a degree of danger or uncertainty involved — like scaling to a high mountain’s peak — could also fit this saying if the task is completed successfully. Even entering or remaining in a personal relationship with large personality differences, class differences, or other similar barriers could be viewed as a success story, or a belling of the cat.

 So, have you ever tried to bell a cat?  What happened?  Feel free to tell us more in the comments.

On Hiatus

Just a note to let readers know the blog is going on hiatus. This may or may not be permanent. I love idioms and love writing about them, but with current time constraints, I'm just not able to keep up. 

I do plan to continue with our Facebook page, however, and will post interesting tidbits I find about idioms and English vocabulary.  I enjoy the community we're building there and hope we can still chat about language!  If you haven't visited us there, please do join us!

Many, many thanks for reading!

Rabbit, Rabbit

On our Facebook page, Niki asked a great question about this phrase.

I've read somewhere on the internet that in England they say "Rabbit, rabbit white rabbit " at the beginning of a new month. Is that true?

I had heard about this ritual, but not until my thirties when a guy from Chicago said it to me. 

Since then, I've seen many, many variations and "rules" for it.  Here are some that Wikipedia has collected:

When the words, "Rabbit, Rabbit" are spoken to any person on the first of the month, for the rest of the month the speaker receives the luck of all who heard the phrase.

The earliest referenced usage may be to saying "rabbits" three times before going to sleep the last night of the month, and then "hares" three times first thing upon waking, though just two years later, it was three "rabbits" in the morning with no "hares" at all.

Another variation is "bunny bunny hop hop" or "bunny bunny rabbit rabbit."

In some areas of the Southern United States, such as Tennessee and Mississippi and Maryland, campers will say "I hate white rabbits" in response to campfire smoke blowing into their face, hoping the smoke will go elsewhere.

For luck, the following must be spoken before noon on the first day of the month: "Rabbits Hot, Rabbits Cold, Rabbits New, Rabbits Old, Rabbits Tender, Rabbits Tough, Rabbits I've had enough." (Origin UK, possibly London, Hampshire or Derbyshire.)

According to the site Way Past Normal, luck comes if you say "rabbit, rabbit" when you wake up on the first of the month.  But if you forget, you can say "tibbar, tibbar" before you go to sleep that night.  (In other words, just say "rabbit" spelled backward.)  And the first day of the month is called "Rabbit Day" in some parts of the UK.

A site called Rabbit-Rabbit.org notes that you need to hop on your left foot when you say "rabbit, rabbit" in order for the luck to take effect.

I admit I haven't had a chance to verify any of these, but I'm quite curious about this ritual and plan to look into it more.

The tradition has even expanded to Twitter.  As I write this, it's still May 31 here in the United States, but it's already June 1 in other parts of world.  Here are a few tweets I found:
x
#rabbitrabbit Happy June!!!  (@sbakez)x

White rabbit is a common british superstition. You simply say "white rabbits" upon waking on the first day of each new month. (@HalaQabandi)

x

Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month. White rabbit (@x___brittany)
x

Tomorrow is the first day of June! Don't forget to say "rabbit, rabbit" first thing in the morning for a whole month of good luck. :)   (@magiccabin)

So, why a rabbit?  Why not say "rhinoceros, rhinoceros" and see the luck pouring in? 

Well, that would be a rather cumbersome thing to say, wouldn't it?

In many cultures, rabbits symbolize good luck.  In the Chinese zodiac, the rabbit is considered one of the luckiest signs.  And some people carry rabbit's foot amulets with them as a way to bring good luck.

How about you?   Do you say "rabbit, rabbit" - or some variation - on the first day of a new month?  Can you think of similar superstitions?


(Brown rabbit photo by donjd2 via Flickr)
(White rabbit photo by Mostly Dans via Flickr)

Phrases from our Mothers

Yesterday was Mother's Day here in the U.S., so I thought it would be fun to look at some of the phrases our mothers say.

One of my mother's favorite phrases was:

That's the way the mop flops.

It means "that's just the way it is" or "that's life."  She had a few variations, too:

That's the way the cookie crumbles.

That's the way the ball bounces.

I've also heard:

That's the way the world wags.

But over time I've heard some new ones.  Echo and the Bunnymen's song "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo" includes the lyrics:

That's the way the thunder rumbles.

That's the way the bee bumbles.

And Tom Waits puts William Burroughs's words to music in the song "That's the Way"

That's the way the stomach rumbles.
That's the way the glue sticks.
That's the way the potato mashes.
That's the way the moon wanes.

(Click here for the complete lyrics)

Can you think of any other variations?

And what are some phrases that remind you of your mother? 

Spill the Beans

When I was little, I was really bad at keeping secrets, especially when it came to birthday and Christmas gifts.  I used to tell my Dad, "I got you pistachios, but erase that from your mind, okay?"

Another time, my brother mentioned a game he was hoping for. 

"That's what it is!" I exclaimed

"What?" he asked.

"Your birthday present!"

Not surprisingly, my brother was annoyed. 

The good thing is that I'm less likely to spill the beans now that I'm older.  

When you spill the beans, you tell a secret, usually by accident.

Example 1

Please don't tell Molly that I'm looking for a new job.  I know she'll spill the beans to the boss!

Example 2

The party for Jim is a surprise!  Don't spill the beans!

There are a few theories about spill the beans.  One is that it comes from the ancient Greek practice of using beans to vote.  If you wanted to vote for someone, you tossed a white bean into a jar.  If you were against, you threw in a black bean.  If the jar tipped over and the beans spilled, then the election progress would be known too early.  Everyone would then have to start over.

The problem with this theory is that spill the beans is an American phrase from the early 20th century.  The OED places the first recorded instance in 1919, when T.K. Holmes wrote in Man From Tall Timber:

Mother certainly has spilled the beans!’ thought Stafford in vast amusement.

However, The Phrase Finder notes that spill the beans might have come earlier, with a slightly different meaning:

... the phrase was used with the meaning of 'upset a previously stable situation by talking out of turn', which is close to how we use it today. That is cited in The Van Wert Daily Bulletin, October 1911:

"Finally Secretary Fisher, of the President's cabinet, who had just returned from a trip to Alaska, was called by Governor Stubbs to the front, and proceeded, as one writer says, to 'spill the beans'."

It's possible that spill the beans comes from the verb "spill" which sometimes means "divulge" as Merriam-Webster explains in its fifth definition of the word:

      : to let out : divulge <spill a secret>

 

and its examples:

 

     an interviewer who gets celebrities to spill their secrets
     Come on, spill it. Who gave you the money?

 

In that case, you could spill just about anything and we sometimes do:  spill your guts, the soup, everything, and what you know, are all variations according to the Random House Word Mavens.   And this use of spill goes back to the 1500s, they say.

 

Have you ever spilled the beans?  What happened? 

 

(By the way, there was once a game called "Don't Spill the Beans" but I'm pretty sure this wasn't the game my brother wanted.  For fun, check out the 1960s-era television commercial here.)

(Photo courtesy of krossbow via Flickr)

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The Cookie Idioms: Smart Cookie, Tough Cookie

I want to say a big thank you to food blogger Jennifer Walker, who wrote today's post on cookie idioms.  Jennifer shares her musings on food, recipes, and good eating at her blog My Morning Chocolate.  And as a huge peanut butter fan, I can't wait to try her Flourless Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies.  I'm hungry already, how about you?

By Jennifer Walker 

Cookies are my favorite dessert, snack, and cooking activity.  If I don’t have them in the house, I don’t feel right.  Still, I have yet to call anyone a cookie – other than my grandmother’s friend whose name is Ms. Cookie – even though there are at least two options to do so.  

The word “cookie” comes from the Dutch word “koekje,” which means “little cake,” according to The New Food Lover’s Companion.  The first cookie-like “cakes” were thought to have originated in 7^th century Persia, one of the earliest countries where sugar was cultivated.    

Later, cookie became a slang word, referring to a person or an alluring young woman, according to Dictionary.com.  (Though “cookie” is used to refer to both women and men today.)  This slang word has been used since 1920, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary in phrases like “smart cookie” and “tough cookie.” 
    
Smart Cookie

The Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms says that a smart cookie is “someone who is clever and good at dealing with difficult situations.”  It’s a phrase that was first used in 1948, though I couldn’t find information on how it was used.  But a respondent on Yahoo Answers has an interesting theory:  the term “cookie” may have referred to women as far back as the 1700s, and “smart cookie” may have been a comment on women’s intelligence.    

Example 1

Belinda is a smart cookie who always gets top scores in her classes.

Tough Cookie

Well, you’re the real tough cookie with a long history

of breaking little hearts like the one in me…

Remember Pat Benatar’s song “Hit Me with Your Best Shot”?  When she sang about a “tough cookie,” she was talking about “someone who is very determined to do what they want and who usually succeeds even in difficult situations,” according to, once again, the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms.

Example 2

Carol is one tough cookie – she works at least 12 hours a day because she wants to be chosen for a promotion.

I did some Google research on these phrases and have determined that these phrases are often used in business names, slogans, and even book titles, but I can’t think of a time when I’ve heard someone use “smart cookie” or “tough cookie” in everyday speech.  

But maybe I’m just not paying enough attention.  Do you ever call someone a “smart cookie” or “tough cookie” (or hear anyone else use these phrases)?  

(Photo courtesy of Jennifer Walker)