Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Done in

 Just came back from Left Coast Crime "Trouble in Tucson" conference, where I had a wonderful time. Kudos to the conference organizers and volunteers and a special whoop and holler to all the "Lefty" winners and finalists!  👏 👍  It was great to catch up with people I know from the mystery world, and to meet and chat with new readers and writers. (My TBR pile underwent a major expansion due to this trip!) I'm back home now and whew! I'm all done in.

Which leads to the Slang-o-rama post of the week...

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Done in, meaning "exhausted, very tired," dates from early 1900s, according to my hardcover copy of The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer (copyright 1997... yeah, I've had this a while!). Turning to the internet, I found an entry on Green's Dictionary of Slang (which is quite an awesome reference for all things slang, btw), which included the following definitions for done in, and different dates for their first appearance.

• very tired, exhausted (also done out): 1900
• beyond further effort: 1912
• dead: 1916
• intoxicated by a drug: 2013

Well, I'm definitely not dead yet and not intoxicated by a drug (unless caffeine counts?)... but the other two definitions apply. I think I'll cut this entry short, rest a bit, and contemplate what to do with the rest of the day.

Feeling done in: Shall I do the laundry or make a bowl of popcorn and binge on Netflix?
John Singer Sargent, Nonchaloir (Repose), 1911, National Gallery of Art

Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Agog about award noms

 I missed a week of Slang-o-rama, and I blame it on being agog re: nominations left and right. 'Tis the season when various organizations start putting forth their nominees for various awards, and I always devour those lists avidly. But before I offer the ones that have me all agog, let's take a quick Slang-o-rama look at (you guessed it!) agog...

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The Online Etymology Dictionary has this adverbial entry:

agog: "in a state of desire; in a state of imagination; heated with the notion of some enjoyment; longing" [Johnson], c. 1400, agogge, probably from Old French en gogues "in jest, good humor, joyfulness," from gogue "fun," which is of unknown origin.

Wiktionary also defines the Old French en gogues as "in a merry mood" and also points to the Italian agognare (“to desire eagerly”). Plus, it additionally defines the adjective agog to mean wide open (eyes), which is actually the definition that first popped to my mind. Merriam-Webster also has a very nice entry that dives a little deeper into the word and provides adjectival synonyms "eager," "agape," "astonished," bustling," and "replete." MW also provides different "first use" dates, with 1663 as an adverb and 1664 as an adjective. 

Now, to the lists!

Nominees for various mystery/crime fiction/nonfiction awards are starting to roll in:

• Nominations for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Awards are here
• Left Coast Crime has its Lefty Award nominees here (and to add excitement to my agog, THE SECRET IN THE WALL is a nominee for the Lefty award for Best Historical Mystery!)
• Malice Domestic has announced the nominees for the Agatha Awards here

Congratulations to ALL nominees, everywhere, and a special shout-out to good buddy Mary Anna Evans who is up for an Edgar and an Agatha for her nonfiction book The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, co-authored with J. C. Bernthal. 

A good place to get the latest greatest news in the mystery corner of the world is Janet Rudolph's Mystery Fanfare blog (plus Janet runs fun cartoons that make me laugh, such as this one about the difference between dogs and cats.)

Stepping out of the world of mystery, let's not forget the Oscar nominations! Along with being an avid reader, I love movies, and am glad to see some of my favorites from last year listed. If you have any favorite films you're agog over, leave a comment and let me know...

Eyes all agog (and a marvelous hat!), circa 1880
By C & R Lavis, Eastbourne - Family collection, Public Domain, Link

Join the Left Coast Crime (Virtual) Unconvention fun this Saturday, February 27

 

With the pandemic still with us, the Left Coast Crime convention has become the UNconvention this year. The Lefty Awards will, however, continue!

On Saturday, February 27, 2021, The Unconvention will host four online panels to introduce the 2021 Lefty Nominees and their books. The Lefty Award Nominee Webinar is free, but advance registration is required. For schedule and registration, click here.

I'll be appearing on the Best Historical Novel panel with the other nominees. Here's the list of panelists and their books for that session, which starts at 11:15 a.m., Pacific Time:

• Susanna Calkins, The Fate of a Flapper (Minotaur Books)
•  Dianne Freeman, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder (Kensington Books)
•  Laurie R. King, Riviera Gold (Bantam Books)
•  Catriona McPherson, The Turning Tide (Quercus)
•  Ann Parker, Mortal Music (Poisoned Pen Press)
•  James W. Ziskin, Turn to Stone (Seventh Street Books)

The festivities start at 8:30 a.m., Pacific Time, with panels for Best Debut Novel and Best Novel followed by Best Historical Novel and wrapping up with Best Humorous Novel. So get registered for this FREE event, and get ready to bring your favorite cuppa, kick up your feet in front the screen, and add to your to-be-read piles. Hope to see you there!

Well, carry me out with the tongs! Slang-o-rama and an Award nomination

I received a pleasant surprise early this week: The seventh Silver Rush mystery Mortal Music is a finalist for the Left Coast Crime's 2021 Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel!

I'm pleased, thrilled, honored, and yes, a mite astonished! I'm also tickled pink that I get to rub elbows (virtually only!) with the other Lefty Historical finalists—all wonderful people and writers:

• Susanna Calkins, The Fate of a Flapper (Minotaur Books)
• Dianne Freeman, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder (Kensington Books)
• Laurie R. King, Riviera Gold (Bantam Books)
• Catriona McPherson, The Turning Tide (Quercus)
• James W. Ziskin, Turn to Stone (Seventh Street Books)

You can view a list of all the Lefty Award finalists for all the categories here. Awards will be presented on April 10.

And yes, this is a combo Slang-o-rama post because Carry me out with the tongs! is...

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... an exclamation of surprise dating from 1927, according to Words and Phrases from the Past. Since it appears in The Facts on File Dictionary of American Regionalisms (Facts on File Library of American Literature) by Robert Hendrickson, I think we can safely assume it is a regional expression. More than that, I cannot say... 

Do salad tongs count?

 

Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Take a powder (AND News Flash!)

~~ NEWS FLASH!
This just in: A DYING NOTE is nominated for a "Lefty Award" in the Best Historical Mystery category (along with piles of other wonderful books). Winners will be announced at the Left Coast Crime mystery convention, in Vancouver, BC, late March. Click here for all Lefty nominations in all the categories.  END NEWS FLASH! ~~


 Now that the winter holidays are pretty much over, quite a few folks I know have decided to take a powder to warm spots south (Hawaii, Mexico!), icy/snowy climates north (Canada, Colorado, New York!) or other geographical vacation spots, all in the name of R&R. I can't say I blame them. In fact, I wish I could do the same.

However, since I am here and you are here (virtually speaking), let's take a closer look at take a powder. How did this phrase come to mean charging off at top speed?
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The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer suggests the following etymology:

This slangy idiom may be derived from the British dialect sense of powder as "a sudden hurry," a usage dating from about 1600. It may also allude to the explosive quality of gunpowder.

I'll admit that my first thought was that maybe it had to do with gunpowder, so I was please to see this pop up here. However, not so fast (so to speak!) because the Online Entymology Dictionary has this to say:

The phrase take a powder "scram, vanish," is from 1920; it was a common phrase as a doctor's instruction, so perhaps from the notion of taking a laxative medicine or a sleeping powder, with the result that one has to leave in a hurry (or, on another guess, from a magician's magical powder, which made things disappear).

 Whoa! I never thought of the laxative angle. Checking American Slang, 2nd Edition, by Robert L. Chapman/Barbara Ann Kipfer also mentions the magical powder connection, noting that this use of take a powder had appeared by 1688 (which pre-dates 1920 by quite a bit!).

So, whether you decide to take a powder or stay put, here's hoping the first month of the new year gives you some time for your own version of R&R, along with the inevitable return to  routine. 

"I think a quick trip to Hawaii might be nice right about now, don't you?
[Flucht eleganter Reiter vor dem Kampfgeschehen by Alexander von Bensa, Public domain]