{"id":70316,"date":"2014-04-28T11:21:47","date_gmt":"2014-04-28T10:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/origin-of-phrases-part-three\/"},"modified":"2014-04-28T11:21:47","modified_gmt":"2014-04-28T10:21:47","slug":"origin-of-phrases-part-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/origin-of-phrases-part-three\/","title":{"rendered":"The origin of phrases – Part three"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you follow @strattoncraig<\/a> on Twitter you might\u2019ve seen our post about the origins of \u2018o\u2019clock\u2019\u2026it\u2019s below if you missed it, along with the history of a few other weird and wonderful phrases we use often and rarely question.
\nO\u2019clock<\/strong>
\nOrigin:<\/em> O\u2019clock is short for \u2018of the clock\u2019 and was used to differentiate between time told by clock and by moon or sun.
\nWild Goose Chase <\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> A hopeless or foolish search for something unattainable
\nOrigin:<\/em> First used in print by William Shakespeare, this phrase was probably not coined by him but more likely he was the first to write down an already popular phrase. But in Romeo and Juliet, the phrase was used to describe a horse race, with the v-formation flown in by geese resembling horses racing with a leader of the pack.
\nRed herring<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> A distraction from the main event
\nOrigin:<\/em> According to 1,000 English Idioms explained, this is a fox hunting phrase. Hounds could be distracted by the very strong aroma of red herring, either to divert them off course or to train them to follow a scent.
\nBy and large<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> On the whole \/ generally speaking
\nOrigin:<\/em> A nautical term from the 16th<\/sup> Century when the word large was used to describe a ship sailing with the wind, rather than against it. The term \u2018by and large\u2019 was an extension of this and described the action of trawling the seas in any direction relative to the wind.
\nThe third degree<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> A long interrogation
\nOrigin:<\/em> The most likely origin of this commonly used phrase is from the Freemasons. This fraternal organisation is notoriously difficult to become a member of and those wishing to progress up the chain to become \u2018third degree\u2019 members must undergo rigorous questioning to get there.
\nTaken aback<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Surprised or caught off guard
\nOrigin:<\/em> Like by and large<\/em>, this is another nautical term. It was originally used to describe a manoeuvre used to change direction quickly, stop suddenly or even reverse, in order to avoid the unexpected emergence of rocks or reef. Originally \u2018taking aback\u2019, which referred to the position of the sails.
\nCatch up on Part One<\/strong><\/a>
\nRead the previous collection: Part Two<\/strong><\/a>
\nSee us swing into action in Part Four<\/strong><\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you follow @strattoncraig on Twitter you might\u2019ve seen our post about the origins of \u2018o\u2019clock\u2019\u2026it\u2019s below if you missed it, along with the history of a few other weird and wonderful phrases we use often and rarely question. O\u2019clock Origin: O\u2019clock is short for \u2018of the clock\u2019 and was used to differentiate between time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe origin of phrases - Part three - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/origin-of-phrases-part-three\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The origin of phrases - Part three - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you follow @strattoncraig on Twitter you might\u2019ve seen our post about the origins of \u2018o\u2019clock\u2019\u2026it\u2019s below if you missed it, along with the history of a few other weird and wonderful phrases we use often and rarely question. 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