Language enthusiasts have developed healthy curiosity to know the stories of words and expressions. They raise questions such as: What is the origin of the expression? Where does it come from? What is the original meaning of the expression? Does it have any additional meaning? Is it a common expression or specific to any particular region? Yes, language enthusiasts find stories of words and phrases fascinating.
A year ago, I gave a lecture on 'Stories of English words and phrases' to a group of 30 students. After the lecture, I received emails from students of the group on how the session motivated them to enrich their knowledge of English.
This week's column discusses the origin of two expressions: i) redheaded stepchild, and ii) seven year itch.
Redheaded stepchild is an American expression and it has spread not only to Canada but also to the UK and a few other English speaking countries. As most stepchildren frequently suffer physical abuse from other children and parents to whom they were unrelated, the term is used to describe a person who is neglected, mistreated or unwanted. Look at this example.
* From the day the Republican party came into power, the South has been treated like a redheaded stepchild.
The term sevenyear itch originated in North America. In the book Walden, Henry Thoreau uses the phrase the sevenyear itch. The sevenyear itch that Thoreau had in mind was an infection by a mite which lays its eggs in burrows under the skin. Its medical name is scabies, whose name comes appropriately from Latin scabere, to scratch. Because it was so hard to get rid of, a story grew up in North America that those who got the itch were stuck with it for the next seven years. The phrase was sometimes later reinterpreted to mean that it would recur after seven years, or would reappear every year for seven years. Now the term refers to something or someone that is persistently irritating or a continual nuisance.
- rayanal@yahoo.co.uk