to talk a blue streak.
To talk rapidy and, usually, interminably. We seem to have made this up from two or more other American expressions, all referring to lightning. As long ago as 1830 . . . mail coaches, though drawn by horses, moved with such rapidity as to leave a “blue streak” behind them. And if one “made a streak for home” . . . he ran like lightning.
—Charles Earle Funk, from Heavens to Betsy! and Other Curious Sayings, 1955.
to know chalk from cheese.
There was a time when coloring matter was not used in the making of cheese. Consequently, chalk and cheese were of the same whiteness. Such, at least, was the state of affairs in the fourteenth century . . . [when] comparisons of chalk with cheese began to crop up at every opportunity. . . . Such comparisons carry on to the present time from habit, though for several centuries the two substances no longer have had even a superficial resemblance.
—Charles Earle Funk, from Heavens to Betsy! and Other Curious Sayings, 1955.
between the devil and the deep blue sea.
On the horns of a dilemma; between equally perilous dangers. . . . “Devil,” in this phrase—as also in “the devil to pay”—is a nautical term. In the days when hulls were of wooden construction, the term was applied to a seam between two planks which, because of its location or of its length, was especially accursed by sailors. In this instance, “devil” probably referred to the seam on a ship’s deck nearest the side; hence, the longest seam on the deck, extending on a curve from stem to stern, and, from its location, a most dangerous one to calk or fill with pitch. Anyone between the devil and the deep (blue) sea had a very narrow footing, a narrow margin for choice.
—Charles Earle Funk, from Heavens to Betsy! and Other Curious Sayings, 1955.
to trip the light fantastic.
To dance. In full, the expression is “to trip the light fantastic toe.” It comes from John Milton’s L’Allegro (1632). . . :
Come, and trip it as ye go
On the light fantastick toe.
—Charles Earle Funk, from Heavens to Betsy! and Other Curious Sayings, 1955.
ivory tower.
When Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French literary critic of the early nineteenth century, coined this term he thought of it as applicable to the aerie of a poet, a place where he could retire from the world, a retreat. . . .
Though long held by the poets, the “ivory tower” has been invaded by others in recent years. It is still aloof from the common run and is still a sanctum, but, whether secluded or not, it is now a remote observation post that is open to philosophers, college professors, various writers, an occasional editor, and others who may, as from a place of vantage, watch the world go by.
—Charles Earle Funk, from Heavens to Betsy! and Other Curious Sayings, 1955.
sailing under false colors.
Assuming to be what one is not; being a pretender or hypocrite. This arose from the days of piracy on the high seas, when a pirate vessel, sighting a possible prey, hoisted the flag of a friendly nation to its halyards to allay suspicion while it drew within striking distance, thus catching the unsuspecting victim unprepared for defense. But “under false colors” was in earlier use in a similar sense, denoting a man, sect, or even an army appearing in the garb or under the badge or insignia of a house or party of which he was not a member. From this were derived such phrases as “to come out in one’s true colors” and “to show one’s colors”; that is, to reveal one’s true nature or standing.
—Charles Earle Funk, from Heavens to Betsy! and Other Curious Sayings, 1955.
neon Mecca
“Since its emergence as the world’s gambling and neon Mecca in the 1950s, successive waves of astonished visitors have believed they have witnessed the ultimate excesses of Las Vegas’ resort district, that the boom and expansion of the city cannot go on. . . . And the resort district itself has consistently outdone itself to the point where in 1996 it is in a fascinating state of transition from an adult-oriented gambling centre employing neon lights, glamour and glittery showgirls to sell its wares, to a full-blown tourist destination offering sanitised sex, sin and all-round entertainment in an environment that is a hectic amalgam of theme park and multimedia, multi-sensory experience. In the 1990s, spectacle, performance and monumentally scaled, themed architecture are replacing neon as advertisement for the casinos.”
—Frances Anderton and John Chase, from Las Vegas: The Success of Excess, 1997.
day turns to night once an hour, on the hour
“Themed on the piazzas of ancient and modern Rome, Caesars Forum Shops [at Caesars Palace] is an entire world, complete with changing skies, fountains and statuary in which day turns to night once an hour, on the hour. The programmed entertainment, manipulated passage of time and attention to detail create an unusually complete substitute universe designed not only to entertain but to disorient the visitor. Every bit of ornament or theming in a casino is intended to separate you in time and space from your nine-to-five routine and the need to make your mortgage payment.”
—Frances Anderton and John Chase, from Las Vegas: The Success of Excess, 1997.
objects appear less in size, and grow dim in colour, in proportion as they are more removed from the eye of the spectator
“Though the Chinese are not well versed in opticks, yet experience has taught them that objects appear less in size, and grow dim in colour, in proportion as they are more removed from the eye of the spectator. These discoveries have given rise to an artifice, which they sometimes put into practice. It is forming prospects in perspective by introducing buildings, vessels, and other objects, lessened according as they are more distant from the point of view; and that the deception may be still more striking, they give a greyish tinge to the distant parts of the composition, and plant in the remoter parts of these scenes trees of a fainter colour, and smaller growth, than those that appear in the front or fore-ground; by these means rendering what in reality is trifiling and limited, great and considerable in appearance.”
—Sir William Chambers (1726–1796), from the essay Of the Art of Laying Out Gardens Among the Chinese, which accompanies his Design of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, Machines, and Utensils, 1757.
Of the Claro-Obscuro.
The knowledge of lights and shades, which painting requires, is one of the most important and most essential branches of the art. We only see by means of light, and light draws and attracts the eye with more or less strength, as it strikes the objects of nature; for this reason the painter, who is the imitator of these objects ought to know and chuse the advantageous effects of light. . . .
This part of painting includes two things, the incidence of particular lights and shades, and the knowlege of general lights and shades, which we usually call the claro-obscuro. . . .
Claro implies not only anything exposed to a direct light, but also all such colours as are luminous in their natures; and obscuro, not only all the shadows directly caused by the incidence and privation of light, but likewise all the colours which are naturally brown, such as, even when they are exposed to light, mantain an obscurity, and are capable of grouping with the shades of other objects: Of this kind, for instance, are deep velvets, brown stuffs, a black horse, polished armour, and the like, which preserve their natural or apparent obscurity in any light whatever.
—Roger de Piles (1635–1709) from The Principles of Painting, as “translated by a Painter” and published in London in 1743.