Pam Webb

How Cliché: Liking those “L” phrases

Lots of lovely “L” phrases coming your way…

Labor of love: to do something for the joy of doing so instead of doing so for personal gain. This phrase is found in the New Testament in Hebrews 6:10 and in Thessalonians 1:3. Both scriptures refer to those who labor in the name of God, doing so in love.

Lame duck: someone finishing out their term of office who will be replaced soon. Originally in 18th century Britain a broker who could not pay his debts were crossed off the membership and they would “waddle away” in shame. Moving to the USA in the 19th century the term was applied to congressmen who were not reelected yet had to serve out their term. perhaps causing them to “waddle away” in shame of losing their job.

Larger than life: appearing to be real. The original saying is from the Latin expression ad vivum, or “to the life.” In the 18th century the phrase appears, the 1799 Lame Jervas: “I see the puppets, the wheelbarrows, everything as large as life.” Other writers, such as Lewis Carroll and George Bernard Shaw began using the expression.

Last but not least: perhaps last but not not least in importance. It’s thought John Lyly originated the expression when he said, “Of these three but one can stand me in steede, the last, but not the least” in his 1580 Euphues and His England. It was also used by Shakespeare in his plays, including Julius Caesar and King Lear.

Last ditch effort: a desperate final attempt. In the 17th century the military term for last ditch applied to the last trench of defense. The 18th century saw the term used by Thomas Jefferson who said, “A government driven to the last ditch by the universal call for liberty.”

To lay an egg: to fail in an embarrassing manner. If a player or team does not score in the British game of cricket then a duck’s egg or zero is earned. Transfer this concept to America’s vaudeville and theater days when a performance failed to please the crowd or when a business fails the idea of laying an egg is applied, or in other words, an zero is achieved.

Left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing: taking an action that might indicate less than full knowledge. In Mathew 6:3 the passage indicates that a person should do good quietly instead of publicizing their action, basically keeping the action secret. Over time the secret aspect has taken to mean one department’s or organization’s action indicates a contrary action to another department’s or organization’s efforts, perhaps to the point of adding confusion or inefficiency to a situation.

Left-handed compliment: a statement that seems like praise, but is actually a disguised insult. Marriages between royalty and a commoner is known as morganatic and the ceremony involved the groom (the royal) giving the bride (the commoner) his left hand instead of his right as was done in conventional marriages. *This brings up the issue of the left hand being considered the “lesser” of the hands, which harkens back to superstitions about being left-handed.

Let one’s hair down: to behave informally, without constraint. Back in the day when women wore their hair up, the idea of wearing their hair loose and down around their shoulders was considered a breach of societal protocol. A woman let her hair down only in the privacy of her bedroom. P.G. Wodehouse had fun with this in his 1933 Heavy Weather: “We can take our hair down and tell each other our right names.” *I’m wondering why this only applied to men…

Let the cat out of the bag: to reveal a secret. In old-time open air markets people would purchase their goods and carry them home in bags and baskets. There existed the shady practice of placing a cat in the bag instead of the purchased pig. When the person got home the truth was revealed when the cat was let out of the bag.

There are lots of “L” phrases left. The one that surprised me most was the cat in the bag. I will probably think of pigs whenever I hear a secret revealed from now on.