Why We Say: #15
Watercooler chatter: “That new CEO doesn’t do much, does he?”
“Yeah, bit of figurehead, I figure.”
Today’s lesson involves some sailing knowledge. First, it’s important to know the front, the bow, from the back, the stern. The bow would be decorated with some sort of figure which actually is fairly interesting (go on–have a peek). They didn’t serve any real purpose, but they sure made the ships look imposing, important, regal, at times intimidating. There is also the thought that a figurehead, as in politics and business, can be controlled by other forces, much like the figurehead on the ship is controlled by the sails or other power. Hmm, is there a connection between these two figures in terms of being figureheads?
(I think highly of the Queen, BtW)
Any Laurel and Hardy fans out there? You might recognize this saying, “This is a fine kettle of fish you’ve gotten us into.” If you recall, this was flustered out by Oliver Hardy to Stan Laurel after some frustrating incident. But why a kettle of fish? Maybe Ollie had some Scottishishness about him and was recalling how fishermen thought they could coax the best flavor out of the fish by cooking them right on the spot in a large kettle. They must have known the secret of cooking up a fine kettle of fish, since no one else could replicate it. Hence, from then on “a fine kettle of fish” is actually referring to a mess instead of success.
Singing in the Rain is a personal favorite, especially all those great song and dance numbers by Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. How about this one:
Why “fit as a fiddle?” Kelly and O’Connor might not have realized they were referring to boxers, the fighters (not the dogs) in their ditty. Apparently the original expression was “fit as a fiddler” because boxers had to be in top condition in order to go a few rounds in the ring. Wait, a minute, Gene and Donald must have known that to be “fit as a fiddle and ready for love” they would have to be ready to fight for their love. Makes sense…
(images from Morguefiles and Wikipedia)
Pam Webb 
Well, I knew about the figurehead. But kettle of fish and fit as a fiddle—no. Nice to know these tidbits.
Personally, my favorite Gene Kelly performance—well there are two—is with Cyd Charisse in An American in Paris and the other is when he’s wearing those tight-fitting sailor pants and dancing with Jerry, the cartoon mouse. Oh, he’s so hot! At least I felt that way a long time ago. 😀
I always appreciated Gene Kelly’s athletic approach to dancing. His movies are classic in creativity.
I never thought the origin of a kettle of fish would be so literal. I assumed it was a mispronunciation down the line. What an odd image!