EXPRESSIONS
We’re not talking about facial or mathematical expressions here, this post is about verbal ones that fill many a void in any language. While I don’t remember what caused me to joke “catcher catch can” to our son-in-law, I was off a bit on the precise idiom of “catch as catch can.”
I can hear my mother saying catcher catch can, meaning I’m putting everything on the table, and you grab for what you want in a hurry before someone else gets it.
Similarly, I saw where someone online wrote questioningly, “Anyone ever had ‘catch as catch can’ dinner? My mom used to use that phrase once in a while. Trying it out tonight.”
That entry caused me to look up the expression or idiom and find it slightly different from how I recalled it and repeated it to our son-in-law. He had never heard that expression before, so I asked our daughter if she had, and she agreed that she didn’t know the catchphrase either. Now that they’ve heard it, will they use it? Will our granddaughter be taught the expression; will it be handed down to future generations?
That had me wondering how expressions are learned in a foreign language. Are they the first lessons in “English as second language classes,” as taught by our cousin Ellen? Nowadays, at least partial lists are floating on the internet. For example, “21 Idioms You Must Know:
‘Here’s the list of the 21 Idioms, in case you’re in a hurry and want to jump on one! Learning idioms could be a great after school activity for middle and high school students.
Whether you know them in their precise original wording or as loved ones modified them, or the way you thought you heard them as the one featured in today’s blog post, it’s fascinating to see how expressions are passed down and how some fall out of vogue. Now there’s a word for a foreigner to ponder.
Just as a language such as Yiddish has many words that are difficult to translate, expressions can also be hard to “translate.” The prime example is that there seemed to be no better way to say catcher catch can. One definition I found was, hit or miss. That’s close to the true meaning, but it’s off by a smidgeon.
On that note, infrequently used words could be the subject of a future blog post. Send in a list.
