Thompson has also selected a wonderful variety of terms, from spruce up (a shortened version of the name for Prussia) to eat your heart out (which originates in Greek expressions for extreme grief). In addition to the derivations, he helpfully provides a brief definition and example for each term, sometimes accompanied by small illustrations. In Hair of the Dog, Thompson covers an impressive 400 sayings and phrases, thematically grouping them across 15 chapters according to origin (e.g., nautical, sports, money, politics, literature, people). Truman famously displayed a sign on his desk that read “the buck stops here” to indicate that he was willing to take responsibility for governing America. Silver dollars were later used as markers, which is probably where the term buck originated to denote a dollar. The handles of most knives were made of buck’s horn, so the marker became known as a “buck.” When the dealer’s turn was complete, he would pass the buck.
The person who was next in line to deal was given a marker, which was often a knife. To combat this, the card dealer was frequently rotated during a game. Poker became popular in American during the 18th century and players were always suspicious of any form of bias or cheating. Pass the buck originates from the game of poker. Already disturbed, the other person would then wait for the inevitable noise of the other shoe hitting the floor.Īs for passing the buck, Thompson finds its roots on the card table-and treats us to some bonus etymologies: The person below would often wake when the first shoe dropped on the floor and made a loud bang. It was common to be awoken late at night by a neighbor removing their shoes in the apartment above. These dwellings were all built with similar designs, with bedrooms typically located above one another. In large cities like New York, apartment housing became more common.
Wait for the other shop to drop began with the American manufacturing boom in the late 19th century. Thompson traces waiting for the other shoe to drop back to urban, industrial America: The publisher kindly sent me a copy for review. Then, much to my pleasure, I remembered I had an entire book dedicated to them: Andrew Thompson’s Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town: The Curious Origins of Everyday Sayings and Fun Phrases (Ulysses Press, 2017). Thinking of a writing post on the expressions, I started doing some research online. Some recent US political events have thrust two interesting idioms in the headlines: waiting for the other shoe to drop and pass the buck.
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