April 4, 2009
Our everyday speech is filled with arcane references we don’t even know we’re making, terms Ralph Keyes calls verbal fossils. Examples include “cooties” (a term for body lice that afflicted First World War soldiers while fighting in the trenches), “reading between the lines” (derived from people writing secret messages in invisible ink between the lines of a letter in precryptographical times) and “old fogey” (originally referred to the payment received by 18th century soldiers who did extended time in the army). The number of phrases derived from a single puppet show is particularly noteworthy. The classic British entertainment Punch and Judy showcased a stick-wielding husband who would beat down anyone who stood in his way. Keyes writes, “Because so much of its action derived from Punch’s slapping one and all with his stick, the term slapstick became synonymous with broad physical comedy. Pleased as Punch refers to anyone who seems happy with his own actions.”