‘A bolt from the blue’

The idiom ‘a bolt from the blue’ refers to a sudden shock.

But how can ‘the bolt’ and ‘the blue colour’ be associated with a sudden shock?

‘The bolt’ is the ‘thunderbolt’. ‘The blue’ refers to the ‘blue sky’. When the sky is blue, we don’t expect the rain or thunder. Usually, black clouds fill the sky before the rain. We see the lightning and hear the thunder and get ready for the rain.

But, if we hear a loud thunder when the sky is clear, we are shocked. We find it difficult to believe.

However, such occurrences do happen in life.

When we hear about the death of someone, who has no history of sickness, we are shell-shocked. We are neither able to believe it nor accept it. It becomes a ‘bolt from the blue’.

Usually, this idiom is associated with unpleasant occurrences.

When a person talks about the lottery he has won, he says, ‘Oh! I had a windfall!’

By the way, ‘what is a windfall’?

It refers to a large amount of money received unexpectedly.

What could be the origin of this expression?

Perhaps, the ripe fruit that falls, when a chance wind pushes it?

That is what some scholars say.

In lighter vein…….

I am reminded of an incident from Socrates’s life.

Socrates’s wife was always sour about his habit of inviting people home and having discussions with them for long hours. One day, as a group of his admirers was sitting in the front portion of his house, his wife went on scolding him, loudly. The visitors were perturbed. But Socrates said, ‘It is the thunder, don’t worry. Let us continue!’

His wife was further infuriated and threw a pail of water on her husband and the visitors. His visitors were shocked. But Socrates said with a smile, ‘When it thunders, it also rains!’

People usually praise Socrates as a patient man, who continued to live with this kind of a woman. But, what will today’s feminists say?

'Eavesdropping‘

The term ‘eavesdropping‘ refers to the act of secretly listening to a conversation.

‘Eaves’ – is a singular noun referring to the projecting overhang of a roof. ‘Eavesdrop’ originally referred to the drops of water falling from the eves during rains. Later, it referred to the land portion under the eaves. Still later, it referred to the act of standing in that land portion stealthily and listening to the conversation of the people inside the house. Now, it refers to listening to a conversation, anywhere - eves or no eves.

‘Eavesdropping’ is different from ‘overhearing’. ‘Overhearing’ is not intentional whereas, ‘eavesdropping’ is.

E.g.

• As I was walking in the corridor, I overheard the conversation between Ramesh and Ravi.

• Eavesdropping is a bad habit.

Images: an eavesdropper, the photo of eaves, evesdropping - literally

Breaking the ice

In today’s context, ‘breaking the ice’ will mean ‘creating a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in an awkward or unfriendly situation. Originally, however, ‘breaking the ice’ meant actually breaking the ice by the ice breaker ships with strong outer hulls and powerful engines that broke the large pieces of ice into smaller pieces, thus helping the boats to sail through the icy water in the polar regions.

Shakespeare used this phrase with the present meaning in his ‘Taming of the Shrew’.

We use this phrase quite commonly in sentences such as, ‘When we meet strangers, giving a warm smile usually helps to break the ice.’

image: An ice breaker ship

55Sudha Venkatesh, Shivram Aashish and 53 others

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Kick the bucket

This expression has come to mean, ‘to die’

This is a slang. Using slang words or expressions is usually informal, even disrespectable.

However, when you try to analyse how such an expression came to refer to death, we must conclude that it would have been associated with suicide by hanging. The one who wished to commit suicide would have used a bucket ( now, it is usually a stool or a chair) to stand on, before putting his head in a slip noose. When he kicked the bucket on which he stood, the noose tightened round his neck, leading to this death.

We are not supposed to use this expression when we refer to the death of a respected person. There are many expressions to refer to dying in English such as ––– die, pass away, pass on, expire, breathe one’s last, reach heaven, reached the lotus feet of the Lord, slept in Jesus, etc.

தமிழிலும் இப்படிப்பட்ட வழக்குகள் உண்டு. ஒருவர் இறந்து விட்டார் என்பதைக் குறிக்க, 'காலமானார்', இயற்கை எய்தினார்', 'வைகுண்டப்ராப்தி அடைந்தார்,, 'கைலாச பதவி அடைந்தார்' போன்ற வழக்குகள் உபயோகிக்கப்படுகின்றன. 'காலமானார்' என்பதை வருத்தத்துடன் தெரிவிக்கலாம். ஆனால், 'வைகுண்ட ப்ராப்தியோ', சிவலோகப்ராப்தியோ' அடைந்தார் என்பதை ஏன் வருத்தத்துடன் தெரிவிக்கிறார்கள் என்பது தான் புரியமாட்டேன் என்கிறது. நீங்கள் என்ன நினைக்கிறீர்கள்?