When I heard about this, well, you could have knocked me down with a feather. Given that MORTAL MUSIC was released just before the pandemic hit, I felt sure people were focused on things other than reading (things like stocking up on toilet paper and researching where to buy hand sanitizer and jigsaw puzzles). So yes, I am surprised, but happily so, and honored to be included with such a fine group of Macavity nominees!
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As for knock me down (or over) with a feather, yep, I already looked at this idiom at the end of 2018. But I kinda forgot about all that in my excitement, and researched it all again, so pardon the (partial) repetition below.
In this discussion in Quora, one responder noted its written appearance in Porcupine's Works; Containing Various Writings and Selections, Exhibiting a Faithful Picture of the United States of America, Volume 4 by William Cobbett, in 1801. Another pointed to a StackExchange exchange, which mentions the same Cobbett reference (with a slightly earlier date of 1796), and an even earlier variant—beat me down with a feather—in Samuel Richardson's Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740). And of course, as someone else pointed out, once you see a phrase like this in print, you know it has probably been circulating for a while in the spoken word.
Defined as "extremely astonished, surprised" by Merriam-Webster Online, I'd say knocked down with a feather sums up exactly how I feel right now.
And if you are wondering, "Who is Sue Feder?" this 2006 post from The Rap Sheet provides a little background on her, and why there is an award in her honor.
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| Knocked down with a feather, perhaps? (It's a mystery!) Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill by Pieter Claesz (Dutch, Berchem? 1596/97–1660 Haarlem), 1628. Medium: Oil on wood. The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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2 comments:
Congratulations Ann. How exciting for you!
Thank you, Liz! :-D
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