that which is alluded to, he will be brought into trouble by it; he will find a danger which he did not foresee [expect.] Daer is er radde hin pick el voor hem; q. e. if he does what he proposes he will at once excite vengeance (ill-will) in another quarter [in one he don't think of]; literally, there is there, instantly, hence, ill-will from another quarter for him. And thus as, if he perseveres in this course he will incur a resentment he don't expect. Radde, rade, raede, drade rapidly, at once, instanter. Pick, resentment, hatred, rancour, pique. El, elsewhere, some other place. Voor hem, for him, before him. Radde, sounds rod. TO PAD THE HOOF. A homely expression for to go on (travel on) foot; and implying the being reduced to the necessity of so doing from want of means of going in any other way. Te pad tije hoef ; q. e. to the foot path want brings; absence of means [money] reduces to the foot path [to travel on foot]. Hoef, behoef, want, behoof, indigence, necessity. Tijen, to lead, to draw on, to bring to; and here used in the subjunctive mood. Pad, means specially the foot-path, as distinguished from the horse or carriage road. When we say, "he was forced to pad the hoof," the sense is, he was driven to that mode of travelling from want, destitution, poverty, and forced is pleonastic. Behoeven, is our to behove, in the sense of to be obliged, to feel it our duty, to feel we ought, to feel the necessity of. DUMB FOUNDED. Perplexed [astounded] from something said, from the news of some unexpected disturbing event Dom van d'heete; q. e. [struck] dumb by what is said; speechless from that which is told; unable to say a word after what you have heard. Van, from. D'heete, de heete, may be either as the contracted participle present of heeten, hieten, to say, and thus as that which is saying, or as geheet, a command, an order. Van, in German von. Dom, stupid, senseless, stupified, hebetated; hence our word dumb where the b has been introduced in the course Plum was formerly spelt plumb (BAILEY'S DICTIONARY) and the b in dumb is equally paragogical. of use. HAND OVER HEAD. As in the phrase, he went on hand over head; in the sense of he went on regardless of danger; in a reckless manner. Aen de voor hoede; q. e. at the advanced guard (avantgard); thus at the post of danger; in the crimp's phraseology, at the post of honour; in that of plain people, at the place where he exposes himself unnecessarily to risk; and implies he acts like a fool by so doing. HE WAS AS BUSY AS A HEN WITH ONE CHICKEN. Said in ridicule of one who is employing himselt gravely in something essentially unimportant; one who is treating a trumpery business with an air of importance; one who is making much ado about nothing. Hij wasse als boose, als er hen wijse wan schick in; q. e. he became quite furious, when it was proved to him, that all which could come from what he had been so busy about must be failure [had nothing in it]; he became like a devil, when it appeared all he had been about was wrong from beginning to end [a bad arrangement, ill managed concern]. Boose, outrageous, furiously angry. Wassen, to wax, to become, to grow. Wijsen, to point out. Hen, from hence, from this. Wan, bad, useless, vain. Schick, arrangement. In, in. TO CALL OVER THE COALS. In the sense of to lecture a person for something he has done, to take him to task, to talk to him VOL. I. D with a grave face. But the phrase is never used in a serious sense; when a man is to be tried for his life, we don't say, he is to be called over the coals. Te kal hoeve er dij koel's; q. e. to a long prozy story it is necessary thee should be cool [in order to keep your countenance, to look grave, and not laugh outright at the speaker]. Kal, a long discourse, story, prozy talk. Hoeven, to behove, to be requisite. Dij, thee. Koel's, is cool, be cool, art cool. The phrase is generally used in regard to some intended official enquiry into a government fraud, thus in no serious light, but rather as a good joke, as they say. Koelsmoeds, is a familiar term for dispassionately, temperately; and equivalent to the French, de sang froid, and our, in cold blood." But the similiarity of sound between koel's and coals having brought the last term into the form of the travesty, has brought with it the incongruous notion of heat, and thus of passion (anger). HE IS GONE TO DAVY'S LOCKER. The sailor's phrase for, "he is gone to heaven;" "he is gone for ever;"" he is no more." Hij is gaen toe die eewig's luck er! q. e. he is gone to him who is eternal [to eternity itself]! may happiness attend him there [luck to him]. HE IS GONE TO DAVY JONES'S LOCKER, is in the same sense. Hij is gaen toe de eewig! je hone sij 'es luck er ; q. e. he is gone to the eternal! may he meet with everlasting favour. By the form of its travesty, the affectionate, resigned, honest, manly self-communion and naturally resulting prayer of the friend is degraded to an unmeaning buffoonery, in reference to the most trying event the heart of friendship can experience. Gaen, gegaen, gone, passed on. Die, he who. Eewig, eewigh, eternal, ever enduring, without end. Luck, the imperative of lucken, gelucken, to meet with good fortune, happiness, that which is to be wished for. Hone, hoon, favour, grace, patronage, with which honor, honos, honestus, &c. are of the same stock. Hoon, has also the import of injury, disgrace, anger, indignity, indignation; but then springs from an entirely distinct thema, one to which the French honnir, honte, and honteux, belong. Of this elsewhere. Je, ever, for ever. Sij, let it be, may it be, in Latin sit. 'Es des, in this case, this event. J' hone sij 'es, sounds Jones's. A MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKEN. By which a bird called the Petrel [the stormbird] is now generally understood, at least in the sailor's phraseology; and, in fact, the bird is generally seen (in the latitudes it frequents) busily employed working against the wind which brings on the storm. But the bird has no other relation to the original form of the phrase; if I am right. Er! moet er! keer rije! 's schick in? q. e. see there [pointing to the coming storm]! furl [take in, change the order of] the sails; is all in due order [such as should be to encounter the storm]? See! be alive! reef [shorten, alter the state of] the sails! is it all done as I ordered [is all ready]? A prosopopoeia, in which the captain of the ship announces an approaching storm, and gives orders to prepare to meet it by altering the standing of the sails to one better adapted to meet the coming danger. Er, in that point, in that quarter. Moet, moed, spirit, courage, presence of mind. Keeren, to turn, to change. Rije, standing order, customary condition, general arrangement, form, regulation. 'S, is, is. Schick, proper order. In, in, and so taken place, done throughout. We say, to take in sail, for to shorten sail. The original phrase sounds precisely as the travesty when read consecutively and without the pointings belonging to the form of it. The th has no representative in the primitive stage of our tongue except the t and d. RAW HEAD AND BLOODY BONES. As the nurse's opiate to quiet a troublesome brat. See! there is raw head and bloody bones coming to fetch you. Raa! hoed aen bloote-beens! q. e. look there! take care of bare-bones, the old man, the skeleton, [the familiar type of death]; and blootebeens, of which we have made bloody bones; is the phrase for this emblem of death. Hoed aen, take heed of the imperative of hoeden. Bloot, naked. Been, bone, [in the more formal plural] beenderen, as being at bottom binder, that is, binder of the system of the body, which bone is. Been is also a leg; but then from a different source; and being originally as the legs (both legs) had at first no other plural. It is possible that bloote-beens (bloody bones) may be as naked-shanks (bare legs); and bareness of the rest of the bones implied. Chaucer has benes for bones. It is the above bloote (blootig?) in the adverbial sense of entire, complete, pure, naked, that we have transformed into bloody, in the consequently absurd phrases of bloody good, bloody bad, bloody thief, bloody angry, &c.; where it simply implies completely, entirely, purely, very, truly, and has no relation either to blood or murder, except by corruption of the word. "This John goth out and fynt his horse awey, THE REVE'S TALE. A BUSY BODY. In the sense of, a meddling (officious) person; one to be shunned; guarded against. Er besie! behoedje! q. e. look about you there! be upon your guard! Cast your eyes about! take care of your * Bones, Godd' is benes, as the holy relics sworn by among the Catholics. Bits [remains] of Saints, &c. At once, directly. |