Reader Opinions
I’m an old-school teacher – (raining cats and dogs) March 13, 2020
When I was told of this idiom, too many years ago, it went like this; In the old country when dead cats, dogs or any animal of the like, died in winter they didn’t want the bother of digging through the frozen ground to bury and so they put them on the roof of their dwelling to await a thaw. Strong early spring rainstorms would wash them off the roof and into the gutterways. And it would be ‘raining cats and dogs’.
Old lady – (born yesterday) March 12, 2020
Mark Twain’s beloved wife Livy died in 1904 and he started “translating” the diaries of Adam and Eve: another Biblical reference. Eve starts out by letting us know that she was born yesterday – if there had been an additional day, surely she would remember it. Great heartbreaking literature and I would bet playwright Kanin was familiar with Mark Twain. Time period fits as does the concept of an amazing new creature finding her way, relying on instinct rather than instruction.
Anonymous – (all hell will let loose) March 12, 2020
Finding out he’s being clingy to other people in front of me and then all hell breaks loose.
Zack – (drop a line) March 10, 2020
As mentioned, it uses “line” in the sense of “a line of writing; a few words” which evolved to mean a short letter. The use of “drop” comes from the notion of dropping a letter into a mailbox to be delivered, attested from at least 1769.
Arlinda Hinton – (stay up) March 9, 2020
I was brought up to believe when someone is parting company, saying ‘Stay up!’ means for example to stay on top of things.
Or stay encouraged
Jahanvi Singh – (mind your own beeswax) March 8, 2020
When I and my sister fight, my mother says to us both of you mind your own beeswax.
Anonymous – (apple of eye) March 6, 2020
There is nothing about an apple in Psalm 17. “The apple of my eye,” is not mentioned there or in the Bible in the original language, Hebrew, anywhere. The KJV of 1611 uses the “apple” to indicate the pupil of the eye. The original Hebrew uses the term “ishon” which means pupil or center of the eye. The KJV makes a good choice; in fact, I rather cherish being the apple of God’s eye. In both languages there is a beautiful picture of God protecting us as we would protect the very center of our eye. (Glenn Beall).
Anonymous – (dig heels in) March 5, 2020
Dig heels in means refuse to do something.
Anonymous – (burn the midnight oil) March 5, 2020
It means reading for long hours into the night.
Anonymous – (Punctuation) March 5, 2020
We must attach the importance to the standardized use of the punctuation marks mentioned above.
