Jul 31, 2020

Great Scott, Idioms with Names, Part 2


"Great Scott!" Lieut. Gen. Winfield Scott.
Here we continue to look at common and colorful English idioms that are made with people's names. Want to speak as good of English as others. Well, read on to keep up with then Joneses.


9. keep up with the Joneses, v. phr., to try to show you have the same money, things, or lifestyle as other people, such as neighbors. Jones is a common English surname. This idiom goes back to at least 1913.
→ Whenever his neighbors buy something, Mike has to buy one too. He always wants to keep up with the Joneses.

• keep up (with), phrasal verb, to try to stay alongside someone, or at the same pace, as someone, such as in a race.
→ Carol walks too fast. I can’t keep up with her.
→ I can't keep up with my homework.
→ I try to keep up with the latest news.

10. John Doe, n., a name used for a man when his real name is not known or cannot be revealed. Police and courts use John Doe for murder victims or people who need protection. For women, the name Jane Doe is used.
→ Police found a John Doe (unknown murder victim) over the weekend.

11. (any/every) Tom, Dick, and Harry, n. phr., (1) anyone, any person. (2) the common man, regular people. The second is often disparaging (saying something bad about someone).
→ Not just any Tom, Dick, and Harry can work at our company. We hire only the best.
→ The city can't afford to help every Tom, Dick, and Harry.

12. peeping Tom, a person who secretly watches others get undressed, etc. The term is used by the police and in laws.
→ Police are searching for a peeping Tom in the area.
→ Turn your head. Don't be a peeping Tom.

Lady Godiva (1867) by P Pargetter. On display in Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry.
The term peeping Tom comes from the legend of Lady Godiva riding nude (with no clothes) through the streets of Coventry, in central England. According to the legend, which goes back to at least the thirteenth century, Lady Godiva felt bad about a high tax her husband made the people of Coventry pay.

Godiva asked her husband many times to end the tax, but he refused. Finally he said he would end it if she would ride through the town with no clothes. Agreeing, she told the people of the town they should all stay indoors as she rode, clothed only with her long hair. Only one person, a tailor named Tom, went out to watch. According to some versions of the legend, he went blind as a result.

13. doubting Thomas, n. phr., a person who always doubts things. This idiom comes from a story in the Bible about the disciple Thomas.
→ When I said I could fix her computer, Helen was, as usual, a doubting Thomas. She was surprised to see me succeed.

14. not know from Adam, v. phr.,  to be unable to recognize someone. This is another idiom that refers to a character in the Bible, in this case Adam, the first man. Writers have noted that the idiom doesn't make sense, since Adam was the only man, and he wore only a fig leaf.
→ I've worked for my company for a year, but I've never seen our company president. I wouldn't know her from Adam.

15. Great Scott, interj., used to show surprise. Originally a US idiom, this phrase refers to Gen. Winfield Scott, a US Army general who was running in an election for president. The phrase is probably a euphemism for Great God. It is considered impolite to use the names God and Jesus in expressions, so English is full of euphemisms for expressions that do, such as Oh my gosh.
→ Great Scott, it's snowing out. In May!