Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Origin of Words and Phrases: Shakespeare Edition

Starting point is 00:00:00 Of all the billions of people who have spoken English throughout history, one person has probably impacted the language more than any other. The person who was considered the greatest playwright in the language is also responsible for adding more words and phrases than anyone else. His impact on the language isn't just due to his skill and output as a writer, but also to the fact that he wrote his works when modern English was being created. Learn more about the words and phrases which came to us from William Shakespeare on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed.

Starting point is 00:00:53 It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. I'm sure that most of you are at least aware of who William Shakespeare is. Even if you haven't actually read any of the works of Shakespeare or attended any of his plays, you know that he was a significant figure in the history of English literature. What you probably don't know is just how many of the words and phrases that you use every day were invented by Shakespeare.

Starting point is 00:01:27 It's estimated that there are over 1,700 words that Shakespeare introduced into the English language. Many of them consist of turning nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, putting two old words together to make a new one, adding suffixes and prefixes, and just inventes. holy new words out of nothing. In addition to new words, Shakespeare also created many of the phrases and idioms that we use every day. So most people are totally unaware that every day they're quoting Shakespeare. I should also note that it is entirely possible that Shakespeare did not create some of these words and phrases, but he simply was the first one to put them into writing. They could have been used in everyday language, but just not written down. Even if that's

Starting point is 00:02:07 the case, Shakespeare should still get credit as the person who popularized and first used the words in print. With that, let's get a start with one of the phrases he popularized and which I've had a request from listeners to cover in an episode. It's Greek to me. The idiom, It's Greek to Me, first appeared in the play Julius Caesar in 1599. In it, Cassius is talking to Kosca about someone speaking Greek, and Casca says, quote, nay, and I tell you that I ne'er look you in the face again, but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads. But for my own part, it was Greek to me." End quote. This actually has origins in a Latin phrase,

Starting point is 00:02:47 Grakium-est non-Potest leggy, which roughly translates to, it is in Greek, so I don't understand it. The Latin version actually originated with medieval scribes who were copying Latin texts and didn't know Greek. What is interesting is that most languages have some sort of similar phrase for comparing something unintelligible to another language.

Starting point is 00:03:07 The most common language which is referred to in other languages is in Greek, it's actually Chinese. And in other cases, it's just a neighboring country that speaks a very different language. If something or someone disappears, we may say it vanished into thin air. This has its origin in several Shakespeare plays where he comes very close to saying it. In Othello, which was published in 1604, he says, quote, Then put up your pipes in your bag, for I'll go away. Go, vanish into air, away. end quote. So here he says vanish into air. Then in the tempest in 1610 he says, quote, These are actors, as I foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air, end quote.

Starting point is 00:03:51 Here he used the term thin air, which was the first time it was used. Later, people trying to quote Shakespeare just sort of melded the two together to make them vanish into thin air. If someone set you on a futile quest, it's often said that you have been sent on a wild goose chase. This first appeared in the play Romeo and Juliet in 1592. In it, the character Marcuccio says, quote, nay, if thy wits run the wild goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits, I'm sure, than I have in my whole five. End quote. Soon after Shakespeare wrote this, the term wild goose chase took on a very different meaning. It was a term used in horse racing to describe horses that ran at an equal distance from each other, just like geese flying in a flock. The horse racing meaning of the term eventually fell into disuse,

Starting point is 00:04:40 and the modern meaning remained. If you find yourself in a difficult situation, you can say that you find yourself in a pickle. The first use of in a pickle came from the aforementioned play, The Tempest. In it, King Alonzo, his butler Stefano and his jester Trunculo are washed up on an island along with a barrel of wine. Trinculu and Stefano are drunk when they encounter the king. The king says, quote, Trinculu is reeling ripe. Where should they find this grand liquor that hath gilded them?

Starting point is 00:05:09 He asked Trinculo, How cometh thou in this pickle? Trinculu replies, I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last. End quote. In the play, in a pickle refers to being drunk, but also being in the situation of being drunk. Today, we still might say that someone is pickled

Starting point is 00:05:27 if they're inebriated. Shakespeare may have gotten the idiom from Dutch, which has a phrase that roughly means sit in the pickle, which would mean sitting in the brine solution used to make pickles. Shakespeare's dual use of pickled as in drunk and in a pickle as in a difficult situation has bifurcated, and they mean different things today. However, if you should find yourself on a deserted island with a barrel of wine, you very well might be able to use both meanings as well. If someone is attracted to someone and overlooks flaws and sometimes serious issues, it can be said that love is blind. In the Merchant of Venice, the character Jessica is a shame that the man she loves Lorenzo sees her disguised as a boy. She eventually realizes that it doesn't matter and says, quote,

Starting point is 00:06:11 But love is blind and lovers cannot see the petty follies that themselves commit. For if they could, Cupid himself would blush to see me thus transform to a boy. End quote. Shakespeare actually used the phrase in several more plays. In Henry V, Henry says, quote, Yet they do wink and yield as love is blind and enforces. He used it again in the two gentlemen of Verona, where the character Speed says, quote,

Starting point is 00:06:36 Because love is blind, oh, that you had mine eyes, or your own eyes had the lights that they were want to have when you were a child at Sir Proteus for going unguarded. End quote. If someone is jealous or envious, they are said to have been possessed by the green eyes. monster. The term green-eyed monster first appeared in Othello. In Act 3, Scene 3, Iago tries to

Starting point is 00:06:58 manipulate Othello by suggesting that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair. He says, quote, Oh, beware, my lord of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on. End quote. Several years earlier in the merchant of Venice, he said something similar when the character Portia says, quote, how all the other passions fleet to air, as doubtful thoughts and rash embrace despair, and shuddering fear and green-eyed jealousy. End quote. At the time in Elizabeth in England, certain emotions were associated with colors. Yellow was cowardice, and green represented envy and jealousy. Shakespeare personified jealousy as a monster to suggest how dangerous it was.

Starting point is 00:07:37 If you overindulge in something you like, it can be said that you've had too much of a good thing. Shakespeare first used this phrase in the play as you like it, Act 4, Scene 1, when the character Rosalind says, quote, Why then can one desire too much of a good thing? Come, sister, you shall be the priest and marry us. Give me your hand, Orlando. What do you say, sister? End quote. If you haven't gotten any sleep, you might say that you haven't slept a wink.

Starting point is 00:08:03 This comes from the lesser known play Symboline, Act 3, Scene 4. The character Pisanio says, Oh, gracious lady, since I received command to do this business, I have not slept one wink. If somebody eats a lot, they can say to have eaten you out of house and home. In Henry IV, Part 2, Act 2, Scene 1, a woman says, quote, It is more than for some, my lord, it is for all I have. He hath eaten me out of house and home. He hath put all of my substance into that belly fat of his.

Starting point is 00:08:34 End quote. I've barely scratched the surface of everything which Shakespeare introduced into the English language, which is still being used today. Just to give you an idea, here are some additional phrases without going into the source for each one. Neither rhyme nor reason, cruel to be kind, The clothes make the man, In my heart of hearts, Own flesh and blood,

Starting point is 00:08:55 The be-all and end-all, What's done is done, Stirner stuff, break the ice, Foregone conclusion, Cold-blooded, Brave New World, Star-cross lovers, Cold comfort,

Starting point is 00:09:07 Fair play, Dead as a Dornail, A sorry sight, There's method in my madness, Wear my heart upon my sleeve, Neither here nor there, Send him packing. If you have ever used any of these idioms or phrases, you have unknowingly been quoting Shakespeare.

Starting point is 00:09:25 However, that isn't all. There are also all the individual words that he created and introduced into English. Some of the words are so simple and basic that it's hard to believe that they actually originated with him. Many of the words are compound words that just put two simple words together. Other words were taken from other languages and introduced by Shakespeare into English, and still others were invented out of thin air. Here is a very partial list of words introduced into English by Shakespeare. Accommodation, addiction, admirable, aerial, amazement, auspicious, baseless, bedroom, belongings,

Starting point is 00:10:04 birthplace, blood-sucking, bump, cheap, circumstantial, countless, courtship, critic, disgraceful, distasteful, downstairs, embrace, employer, engagement, eyeball, farmhouse, fashionable, freezing, generous, grime, hint, homely, inauspicious, investment, invitation, lackluster, lonely, majestic, motionless, neglect, obscene, pageantry, pious, reinforcement, restraint, resolve, savage, successful, tranquil, unreal, upstairs, vast, watchdog, and zany. Mind you that this list is nowhere near close to comprehensive because that would just be too much for a podcast. But imagine going back in time to the 16th century, just before Shakespeare,

Starting point is 00:10:57 and trying to communicate without using any of these words or the hundreds more words that he introduced. Just putting aside the literary accomplishments of his plays and poems, which is a lot to put aside, Shakespeare's influence on English just through the words and phrases he introduced is more than anyone else. in history. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Thor Thompson and Peter Bennett. Today's review comes from listener Shoddin Kitma over on the Facebook group. They write,

Starting point is 00:11:31 Hi, Gary, thank you for this podcast. I listen to you when I do woodwork and during the long commutes around the city. Manila is a very congested metropolis. I've learned so much from your show, even stuff about my own country and culture that I didn't know about. I think I'll be a member of the Completionist Club within the next few weeks, but I'm not sure if the Philippines chapter is active or open. In any case, I'm happy you're there and truly appreciate that your show comes daily. Warm regards from the Philippines.

Starting point is 00:11:56 Thanks, Shadin. I'm aware of how traffic in Manila can be, and I'm glad that you have the podcast to keep you company. We certainly do have a Philippines chapter of the Completionist Club. It is located behind a discreet, unmarked door in the intramuro section of the city. Also, I do have more episodes on the Philippines planned, which will cover everything from Jose Rizal to the Battle of Corregador and a host of other topics. Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostagram, you two can have it read on the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Origin of Words and Phrases: Shakespeare Edition

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