3 ms·

Only somewhat related, are there any interesting reads about how idioms tend to come into being? This post includes the origin stories and some of them seem to

Only somewhat related, are there any interesting reads about how idioms tend to come into being? This post includes the origin stories and some of them seem to start out as an inside joke of sorts. I guess I’m just curious whether anyone has spent any time looking into what it is that makes a joke or phrase “go viral” to the point that it becomes a widely used idiom. Or maybe the backstories are more apocryphal and part of the “story” to sell the idiom in the first place? Either way, I’d be interested to read more about the factors that allow a new idiom make its way into language.

cyberge99 5y ago
I beleive you’re referring to the etymology of the terms and when they entered industry parlance. I think that may be tricky to determine as word tend to spread like viruses. One person hears something and wither knows or looks up the word in context, then starts using the word. Google fu may tell you when a phrase started being searched for frequently.
DonaldPShimoda 5y ago
Not these idioms in particular, but you might be interested in the book "Metaphors We Live By", which looks into the origins of a lot of common, everyday metaphors that you probably haven't ever consciously considered as even being metaphors before.
- elliekelly 5y ago
  HN comments like this are the best! This is exactly the kind of obscure book I’d never know about or even think to look for but I absolutely cannot wait to read it. Thanks for the tip!
- spacechild1 5y ago
  It's indeed a great book!
frenchyatwork 5y ago
This would be the domain of linguistics, and my understanding is that there's really no clear consensus on anything. Folk etymologies are rarely any better than a "just-so" story, and often they're an entirely fabricated re-analysis. When we talk about the creation of neologisms like this, we often put them into various categories: sometimes they're simpler than the previous idiom, sometimes they're more complex/nuanced, often they can act as some sort of shibboleth, but it's all after-the-fact analysis, I don't think there's any real rules.
- pcthrowaway 5y ago
  > Folk etymologies are rarely any better than a "just-so" story, and often they're an entirely fabricated re-analysis. Don't 86 my 420 history

cyberge99 5y ago

I beleive you’re referring to the etymology of the terms and when they entered industry parlance. I think that may be tricky to determine as word tend to spread like viruses. One person hears something and wither knows or looks up the word in context, then starts using the word. Google fu may tell you when a phrase started being searched for frequently.

DonaldPShimoda 5y ago

Not these idioms in particular, but you might be interested in the book "Metaphors We Live By", which looks into the origins of a lot of common, everyday metaphors that you probably haven't ever consciously considered as even being metaphors before.

elliekelly 5y ago
HN comments like this are the best! This is exactly the kind of obscure book I’d never know about or even think to look for but I absolutely cannot wait to read it. Thanks for the tip!
spacechild1 5y ago
It's indeed a great book!

frenchyatwork 5y ago

This would be the domain of linguistics, and my understanding is that there's really no clear consensus on anything. Folk etymologies are rarely any better than a "just-so" story, and often they're an entirely fabricated re-analysis. When we talk about the creation of neologisms like this, we often put them into various categories: sometimes they're simpler than the previous idiom, sometimes they're more complex/nuanced, often they can act as some sort of shibboleth, but it's all after-the-fact analysis, I don't think there's any real rules.

pcthrowaway 5y ago
> Folk etymologies are rarely any better than a "just-so" story, and often they're an entirely fabricated re-analysis. Don't 86 my 420 history