The English language has always been notoriously difficult to learn. Complexities and contradictions abound. And then there are its idioms. What must a nonnative speaker, even one able to translate words, make of phrases like "as right as rain," "between the devil and the deep blue sea," "man alive," "Charley horse," "cut the mustard," "eat crow," "hair of the dog that bit you," "no great shakes" and "before you can say Jack Robinson"? Even seemingly simple phrases like "right away" and "so long" can be confounding.
Anatoly Liberman, a professor of languages at the University of Minnesota, has made the study of English part of his broad-ranging life's work. "Take My Word for It," while impressively scholarly, is also a highly entertaining read. It looks at idioms from the past 300 years, including some no longer in frequent use such as "afternoon farmer," "all talk and no cider" and "that's the chap as married Hannah" (that is, that's just what I need).
The origins of some idioms are guessable (though Liberman, a scholar through and through, does no guessing), while others are deeply obscure. More than a few are rooted in racism, misogynism and anti-Semitism. Some have bawdy origins. And all speak to the brain's love of language, stories and metaphors. "Take My Word for It" will throw you for a loop more than once. Oddly enough, "throw you for a loop" isn't in the book. Can a sequel be far behind?
Pamela Miller is a former city editor at the Star Tribune.
Take My Word for It
By: Anatoly Liberman.
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press, 336 pages, $22.95 paperback.
