I don't know about you, but I'm ready to give April the old heave-ho. (I can almost hear the splash as I toss the month overboard.) Of course, I mean heave-ho as in: Dismissed! Ejected! Get outta here!
However....
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Merriam-Webster Online says this particular usage/definition only dates to 1947. Which seems far too recent to me. Looking around I see that Idiom Origins states that heave-ho in the sense of being ejected or dismissed first appeared in the late 19th century (that's more like it!). The original expression is a nautical one, dating from the 14th century. Working together, sailors would holler Heave-ho! while pulling up anchors, hauling on sails and ropes, and so on.
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| Definitely delivering the old heave-ho here. By State Library of Queensland, Australia - https://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryqueensland/6167339023/, No restrictions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53538655 |
It's fascinating to me that the single expression can mean either "toss it out" or "bring it in," depending on the context and the timeframe. I guess no one was given the old heave-ho out the saloon door in the 1860s, for example. (Hmmm. How about in the 1880s?) I decided to search a bit more. The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that the verb heave as in "to throw" is from the 1590s, and the nautical meaning of "haul or pull in any direction" is from 1620s. But, there's more!
Intransitive use from early 14c. as "be raised or forced up;" 1610s as "rise and fall with alternate motion." Sense of "retch, make an effort to vomit" is first attested c. 1600. ... Nautical heave-ho was a chant in lifting.
Oooof. I'm getting a little seasick from all the to-ing and fro-ing. As for heave-ho in the sense of dismissal, OED also points to mid-1900s. (Oh dear. Really??)
Let's no dwell on any possible idiomatic oopses I might have made in one or another of my books and focus instead on this rather impressive acapella version of the song "Hoist the Colours" from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Listen closely, and you'll hear heave-ho in the chorus.
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2 comments:
Walking the plank popped into my mind when I read your post, and, with a little digging, I found out why.
https://reference.yourdictionary.com/resources/pirate-terms-phrases.html
What a great list of words and phrases, Liz! Thank you for posting the link! I'm going to keep it tucked in a file for future Slang-o-rama possibilities... :-)
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