Mysterious Phrase Origins Revealed

Add insult to injury- One of the oldest of expressions, this goes back to an early fable of Aesop, in which a bald man tried to kill a fly on his head and missed the fly, smacking himself instead.  Said the fly: "You wanted to kill me for a mere touch.  What will you do to yourself, now that you have added insult to injury?"

Afraid of one's shadow- The ancient Greeks used this expression and it probably wasn't original with them.  Still very common today, after thousands of years, the workhorse phrase means, of course, to be very fearful for no good reason, to be extremely jittery.

Remember, Be Nice To People!

Always be nice to people on your way up -- you may meet them on your way down-  Not comic Jimmy Durante but humorist Wilson Mizner invented this catchphrase coined in the 1920's, when Mizner served the Muse in Hollywood and invented dozens of well-known, usually caustic expressions.  The phrase is now heard almost everywhere English is spoken.

 
Getting One's Ducks In a Row- American bowling alleys were the first to introduce duck pins, short slender bowling pins unlike the rotund pins that the English used.  Pin boys who set up these pins (before the advent of automatic bowling machines) had the job of getting one's ducks in a row.  Soon the expression I've got my ducks in a row was being used by anyone who had completed any arrangements.





Lining One's Pockets- Despite all the other foppish British Beaus before and after Beau Brummell, only Brummell's name lives on as a synonym for a dandy or fancy dresser.  Beau Brummell, aided by the patronage of the Prince of Wales, later George IV, was the arbiter eleganitarum of London fashion for almost 20 years, a man noted for his excess as well as his good taste; he often spent an entire day dressing for an affair, had all his gloves made by three glovers- one to fashion the hands, another for the fingers, and a third for the thumb, etc.  So valued was his patronage that one tailor presented him with with a coat whose pockets were lined with money, which gave rise to the expression lining one's pockets, for "bribery or graft."



QPB Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins ©2004 Robert Hendrickson  Pages 8, 10, 20, 293, 441