Friday November 2, 2007
Old chestnuts
By ELLEN WHYTE
LOGOMANIA
MANY senior citizens are taking up trekking, scuba diving and other active pursuits once they retire. However, many of the common expressions that revolve around the idea of age still rely on the concept of old age going hand in hand with conservative, traditional principles and a certain amount of immobility.
The old guard
A traditionalist. Sometimes a group of long-standing members who remain very conservative compared to newer, younger members.
This phrase goes back to the time of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte whose Imperial Troops were handpicked for their fanatical loyalty to him. Whenever the people demanded change that the emperor didn’t like the sound of, the Imperial Troops would vigorously oppose it.
Napoleon called them Les Grognards meaning veteran soldiers but the French nicknamed them the Vielle Garde or Old Guard.
Example: It’s no use asking members of the old guard like Ms Tan to support flexible working hours.
The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street
The Bank of England.
The Bank of England building has stood in Threadneedle Street, one of the roads that lie within the original walls of ancient London, since 1734. Until the London Stock Exchange moved to Paternoster Square in 2004, it was here too, making the street England’s financial centre.
The old lady factor was coined because the Bank’s governors are notoriously conservative and suspicious of change.
Example: Big banks can borrow from the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street and pay 5.75% a year for the privilege.
Old fogey
An old and old-fashioned person.
In the middle of the 18th century, this was a nickname for invalided soldiers. By the end of the century, it was used to describe any old man who was a bit behind the times.
In today’s spirit of equal rights, old fogeys can be of either sex. There is also talk of young fogeys, people who are young in age but old-fashioned in outlook.
Dictionaries also point out that people used to talk of stones and ruins being covered in a fog or layer of moss or wild grass. An image that gives the old fogey a bit of oomph.
Example: Old fogeys like Kim Seng only like string quartets and brass bands.
Old chestnut
A story or joke that’s been told so often that it has become incredibly dull.
This phrase became popular in the US in the 1880s but exactly where it came from is uncertain.
Some sources point to The Broken Sword, a play written in 1816 by English actor and theatre manager William Dimond.
When its very boring hero Captain Zavior retells his favourite story about making a surprising discovery in a cork tree, his friend Pablo shouts, “A chestnut, Captain, a chestnut ... Captain, this is the twenty-seventh time I have heard you relate this story, and you invariably said, a chestnut, till now.”
It’s a bit of a reach from this uninspired line to the popular image, but who knows? Stranger things have happened.
Example: We’ve got to write an essay on that old chestnut: Does television rot your brain?
As old as Methuselah
Ancient. A term often used for people but also for objects.
Bible readers will recall Methuselah was Adam’s grandson and Noah’s grandfather. He was unusually longevous, celebrating 969 birthdays until dying during the time of the Great Flood.
Some scholars believe translators made a mistake converting dates from the Sumerian calendar. Recalculating the numbers, they point out Methuselah would have been 85 years old when he died – still a respectable age!
Example: My aunt may be as old as Methuselah but she still dyes her hair a vibrant pink.
Old Nick or Auld Nick
A nickname for the devil.
Most nicknames for the devil imply evil. The word devil comes from the Ancient Greek diabolos meaning slanderer. The idea of nick meaning to steal became popular in the 19th century, and is related to the 17th century term to be nicked which meant to be arrested.
Old Nick became popular around 1643, and etymologists believe it is not connected with any of these meanings but is simply a short form of Nicholas. Why is still a mystery.
While the devil is also called The Old Gentleman in Black, this is not to be confused with the Little Gentleman in the Black Velvet Waistcoat, a popular toast by King William III’s enemies who used to drink to the mole whose tunnel created the ruler’s fatal riding accident.
Example: If you continue to tell lies about your neighbours, you’ll spend eternity with Old Nick.
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