Writing this column is a little like working for SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence). You send out signals into deep space and hope to hear back from intelligent life. During the past few weeks, two very bright readers have beamed back fascinating responses to recent columns.
—Best in (Horse) Show — In a piece on illogical idioms, I suggested that "put your best foot forward" should be "put your better foot forward" because people have two feet; hence, "better," not "best," should be used when comparing two items.
John Rounds of Lawrenceville, N.J., wondered whether the phrase might have arisen in reference to four-legged animals, especially horses, an origin that would make "best foot forward" more logical. He uncovered a similar use in a novel by J. R. R. Tolkien: "the grey mare put her best leg foremost."
The exact origin of "best foot forward" is obscure; it may have something to do with the obsession of 18th century dandies with showing off their fancy shoes and leggings, and "best" might have been intended as an intensifier.
But given the many equine metaphors we still use to describe humans, e.g., "champing at the bit," "horseplay" and "long in the tooth," a quadrupedal derivation is at least a dark horse candidate.
—Cake Walk — In that same column, I explained that the sequence of events in the idiom "you can't have your cake and eat it, too" doesn't make sense. Logically, it should be "you can't eat your cake and have it, too."
Ron Zwizanski of Lambertville, N.J., suggests that the sequence would be more logical if the phrase had originally been "you can't HALVE your cake and eat it, too."
Cutting the cake in two, he reasons, would indicate your intent to share it with someone else, and thus you wouldn't have the entire cake. And "halve" might easily have morphed into "have" over the centuries.
It's a delicious thought, but, alas, when the original phrase first appeared during the early 1600s, it actually used the logical sequence: "A man cannot eat his cake and haue it still," ("haue" being an old version of "have"). But the reversal of this phrase first appeared around 1840 and is now by far the more common version.
This linguistic anomaly played a role in solving the Unabomber case. Theodore J. Kaczynski was known to insist on the original "eat your cake and have it, too" rendering. When the FBI noticed this eccentric usage in one of the Unabomber's manifestos, obtaining a search warrant for Kaczynski's cabin was a piece of cake.
Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.
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