Posts in category 'musings'

I look outside, and I can’t help but wonder if hell really has frozen over. It’s like the molten core of our planet decided enough was enough and packed it in, taking it’s warm glowing warming glow with it. End result? Desolate, wintry wasteland, complete with bitter wind and endless, hardpacked snow drifts. On the way to the bus, I expect to be chased down by a pack of starving wolves, or perhaps encounter a group of migrating caribou on their way to warmer climes, musing over these crazy humans who aren’t doing the same.

The funny thing is, a small, childlike part of me rather enjoys this brutal, brutal winter weather. Given that the last time we had winter this bad was probably when I was in highschool, or perhaps even earlier, I suspect there’s a strong sense of nostalgia being triggered by these near-blizzard conditions. That part of me wants to grab a toboggan and go sledding in the freshly fallen powder. Or find a freshly-plowed-off outdoor skating rink. Or go home and curl up under the covers with a book, protected from the cold by the heavy blankets.

Apparently bitter, bitter cold brings back warm memories of childhood. How ironic.

As Lenore can attest, I often find myself curious about the various idioms from the English language that we all take for granted. It’s really quite remarkable how many phrases we use day to day without truly understanding their meaning or origin. In this particular case, while I was watching the second intermission of the Buffalo-Carolina hockey game, Darcy Regier, the Buffalo GM, knocked on wood before speaking about the success of his team. We’ve all done this: you knock on wood to ward off bad luck. But have you ever wondered where the heck this expression came from?

The most fascinating thing about this and many other idioms in our culture is that it can become nearly impossible to track down their roots. Over time, they become lone cultural artifacts with no identifiable origin. In the case of the phrase “knock on wood”, the most likely origin is actually in ancient druidic beliefs. In particular, it was once believed that trees, specifically the Red Oak, were inhabited by spirits which could be invoked for protection by performing a ritual involving tapping upon the tree.

Incidentally, it turns out NPR has an episode of On Words covering this exact topic, as well as exploring the phrase “gesundheit” and briefly touching on the roots of the idiom “spitting image” (believe it or not, it’s actually rooted in old traditions of black magic).