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Old Archives
can be found Rest on One’s Laurels
Filed Under March 2007, columns | Leave a Comment
Dear Word Detective: I was wondering what the origin is of the term “resting on one’s laurels” or, as my Dad used to say, “sitting on one’s laurels”? Most people I know use it to mean wasting time or being lazy, but I wondered if it doesn’t really have to do with foolish indulgence after reaching the top (laurels being given to the winner of a competition or to signify achievement). — Britt Morris.
How odd. If folks really think that “resting on one’s laurels” means simply “being lazy,” they’re skipping a rather important step, the one where the person becomes fabulously successful. Without that success, whether financial or otherwise, you’re just sitting on a pile of prickly leaves.
Your suspicion that “resting on one’s laurels” means more than simply “taking it easy” is correct. To begin at the beginning, the “laurel” in question is the “True” or “Bay” Laurel, “laurus nobilis,” a large shrub (or tree) native to the Mediterranean area. This laurel (there are several other plants with “laurel” in their names) is also known as a “Bay Tree,” and is the source of the spicy and aromatic “bay leaves” used in cooking.
The significance of laurels, and of wreaths of laurel leaves worn as symbols of accomplishment, goes all the way back to the mythology of Ancient Greece. The god Apollo, who was more than just a bit of a jerk, criticized the archery skills of Eros, the god of love (and lust, giving us the word “erotic”). Eros retaliated by shooting Apollo with a magic arrow that made him fall in love with the nymph Daphne. So far, so good. But then Eros shot Daphne with an arrow that made her hate all men, especially Apollo. Apollo then pursued Daphne over hill and dale, until Daphne, finally cornered, begged Gaia, goddess of the Earth, for help. Gaia quickly turned Daphne into a laurel tree, and Apollo, bereft, fashioned a wreath from the tree as a symbol of his love. Laurel leaves were forever after associated with Apollo, and wreaths made from them were awarded to the victors in the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece as well as to honored poets (giving us the term “poet laureate”).
The use of “laurel” as a metaphor for “honor or distinction” in English goes back at least as far as Chaucer in the 14th century, leading to such phrases as “to reap one’s laurels.” Given the human tendency to take a break once you’ve hit the jackpot, “to rest on one’s laurels,” meaning to coast on the strength of one’s former accomplishments, had appeared by the 19th century.
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Learn the ropes
Filed Under March 2007, columns | Leave a Comment
Which one works the espresso machine?
Dear Word Detective: Many years ago, a high school teacher told me that the expression “showing or learning the ropes” came from the days of sailing ships whereby a new sailor had to learn the functions of all the rigging and lines which were, of course, what we refer to as “ropes.” Years later, a retired navy chief told me that the sailors in those days would have never called the lines and rigging aboard a ship “ropes.” It was a good way to get “dressed down” (a bit like a private who calls his rifle a “gun”). Years later, a museum curator stated that the expression came from teaching a new bell ringer in the church what notes would ring by pulling certain ropes tied at the bottom of the bell tower. But wait, there’s more! I was also told by an old cowboy that the expression came from the old days of roping cattle and wrangling horses. A new cowboy was shown the “tack” room where all the ropes were stored. Well, this is as far as I can go in my quest to learn the truth. Which do you prefer? A 10th grade school teacher, a retired navy guy or a burnt-out cowboy? — Orville.
You left out the museum curator. Actually, if you want to get the full range of stories about “learn the ropes,” you’ll have to seek out the tour guides at nearly any “historical” tourist attraction. Many of the best (i.e., weirdest) word and phrase origin stories I’ve heard come from these folks. There seems to be something about a ruffled bonnet or knee-britches that addles the brain.
In this case, we actually have two winners. The 10th grade school teacher and the retired navy guy are both right. “Know the ropes” (or “learn,” “teach” or “show”), where “ropes” means “how to do something; the inside knowledge,” does come from the world of sailing ships, where the layout and function of the various lines and sheets was the most fundamental and important knowledge a sailor could possess. The phrase first appeared in print in 1840, in the form “know the ropes” (”The captain, who … ‘knew the ropes,’ took the steering oar.”) in Richard Dana’s seafaring classic “Two Years Before the Mast.” It’s clear from that quotation that the term was already in use as a general metaphor for “knowing what to do,” and within a few years it had appeared in non-nautical contexts as well (”Tell me … about Canada, and show me the ropes,” 1860).
But it’s also true that no sailor of the day would have been caught dead calling lines and sheets (lines that control sails) “ropes.” But for landlubbers using the phrase metaphorically, “ropes” is clearer, and “knowing the lines” sounds like something only an actor would worry about.
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