Hearty phrases

 

Hearty phrases

A fashionable man in the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714)

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Here are some encouraging phrases for use when you can’t think of anything else to say in what may be a difficult situation.

Adopt a ‘hearty’ voice for these phrases!

‘Best foot forward’ is a strange expression, since it implies one has more than two feet. There is a suggestion that it stems from a time, probably in the 1700s, when prospective suitors were judged on the comeliness of their legs. Apparently, men would add padding to their calves to make them appear fuller and better muscled. At the same time, footmen in grand houses were appointed for their appearance and needed to look attractive in knee breeches.

Today, putting one’s best foot forward means trying one’s best in attitude and apparel to make a good impression, particularly in job interviews. It can mean, simply, ‘buck up’. 

‘Buck up’ originated in the 1800s. A buck is a male deer, handsome, strong and virile. Young men were often referred to as young bucks, in their fine clothes. To buck up would mean to dress smartly and adopt a confident posture. Now, it’s often used in the sense of ‘getting a move on’; ‘It’s later than I thought – we’d better buck up.’ It is also used as a more robust alternative to ‘cheer up’.

‘That’s the ticket’ means all is well and you’re going in the right direction, making the correct decisions. It is a corruption of the French, ‘C’est l’étiquette’, meaning that’s the right way. ‘L’étiquette’ also means ‘the ticket’. In 16^th century Spain the phrase was adopted and adapted to ‘etiqueta’. It referred to the written rules of precedence and practice for the correct behaviour at court.

‘Worse things happen at sea’ is an idiom intended to make an unhappy person realise that circumstances could be much harsher. Obviously, disasters at sea often have tragic consequences, but it is difficult, in the throes of misery, to contemplate the misfortune of others.

In fact, all these hearty motivational expressions do more to reassure the speaker than the person to whom they are addressed. Nonetheless, rather than refraining from speaking, something seems to drive the urge to encourage. ‘Foot in mouth syndrome’ usually follows!

Twelfth Night - The Feast of the Epiphany

Christmas tree in our hotel room on New Year's Eve

Twelfth Night marks the final day of Christmas celebrations and is the day on which all Christmas decorations should be taken down. It is said to be bad luck to leave them up after this time!

It is still an important part of the Christmas holiday in some parts of Europe. Spanish children leave out their shoes, hoping the Wise Men will fill them with presents as they pass by.

Meanwhile, Italian children hope that an old woman called Befana will leave a present for them. Legend has it that Befana lived in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. The shepherds told her about the baby’s birth but Befana was too busy to visit. By the time she had finished her chores and travelled to the stable, the little family had departed. Since then Befana has wandered the world, searching for the baby and leaving a gift at every house in case he is there.

It used to be a tradition in England to bake a Twelfth Night cake containing a single bean. Whoever found the bean in their slice of cake became the Bean King or Queen for the day and could choose a partner to help them reign over the celebrations.

The Feast of the Epiphany is the day when the Christian church marks the arrival of the three Wise Men at the stable in Bethlehem. Many British children are doubtless quite confused by this as most school Nativity plays show the Wise Men (or Kings) coming to see the baby Jesus at the same time as the shepherds.

The three gifts presented to the baby were gold, as a representation of royalty, Frankincense as a symbol of God and Myrrh to signify suffering.

Latest threat levels or How to offend everyone in one short posting!

Barry recently received the following email:-


Latest threat levels
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorised from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the English issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588 when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Dirty Bastards" They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country's military capability.  It's not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert.

Italy has increased its alert level from "Shout loudly and excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Blitzkrieg".

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Americans meanwhile and as usual are carrying out pre-emptive strikes, on all of their allies, just in case.

And in the southern hemisphere –

New Zealand has also raised its security levels - from "baa" to "BAA!". Due to continuing defence cutbacks (the air-force being a squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper aeroplanes and the navy some toy boats in the Prime Minister's bath), New Zealand only has one more level of escalation,  which is "I hope Australia will come and rescue us".


Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, mate". Three more escalation levels remain:  "Crikey!', "I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and "The barbie is cancelled". So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.