NEWS FLASH plus Wednesday's (regularly scheduled) Random Slang-o-rama: Dark Horse

NEWS FLASH!! —> I have a double dose of wonderful news to share from Silver Rush country... The Secret in the Wall is a finalist/nominee for two more awards: The Macavity Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery (that's one! See all nominees for all Macavity categories here) and the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Mystery (that's two! See all finalists for all Silver Falchion categories here).

I'll admit, looking over the lists of nominees, I felt a bit of a dark horse to named and honored among them.

Which brings us to the Slang-o-rama phrase of the week...  

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Merriam-Webster provides this definition of dark horse: "a usually little known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing." 
The Phrase Finder—always a good source for dates of first use and origins—notes that dark horse originated in horseracing, and was used to describe a horse that was pretty much unknown and thus difficult to place odds on. The phrase used in the figurative sense seems to have first appeared in the 1860s in the academic world. The Phrase Finder offers this example from Sketches of Cambridge, published in 1865: "Every now and then a dark horse is heard of, who is supposed to have done wonders at some obscure small college." 

The phrase has quite the air of mystery, yes?

Image by Bénédicte ARROU-VIGNOD from Pixabay

Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Caught flat-footed (and NEWS FLASH!)

With the 4th of July holiday on Sunday and a "day off" from the virtual cubicle farm on Monday, I am caught flat-footed with the sudden appearance of Wednesday and (yikes!) the need to drum up something for Slang-o-rama! 

So first, caught flat-footed, and then, a bookish news flash!

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Even my little visual "pause" of right-facing angle brackets are a little unprepared, which is very appropriate, for caught flat-footed means caught unprepared or taken by surprise, according to Dictionary.com. The entry goes on to say:

This usage comes from one or another sport in which a player should be on his or her toes, ready to act. [c. 1900]

The same explanation appears in The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. The site Idiom Origins adds that the expression is originally American, adding, "All the evidence points to its origin from being caught flat-footed or unprepared in baseball." A Wikipedia entry "List of police-related slang" has an intriguing entry on flatfoot, which expands on this possible origin:

FLATFOOT: A term with uncertain origins. Possibly related to the large amount of walking that a police officer would do; at a time when the condition flat feet became common knowledge, it was assumed that excessive walking was a major cause. Another possible origin is the army's rejection of men with flat feet, who would often take jobs in law enforcement as a backup, particularly during war when established police officers would often join up (or be forced). What is known is that by 1912, flat-footed was an insult among U.S. baseball players, used against players not "on their toes." This may have been applied to police officers sometime later, for similar reasons.

Caught flat-footed indeed!
Image by David Mark from Pixabay

---------------------------------NEWS FLASH NEWS FLASH NEWS FLASH--------------------

On July 4th I was thrilled and honored to learn that MORTAL MUSIC is a finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award (WRMA) in the Maverick category.!Those of you who sport the spirit of the West, please join me as I hoot and holler and throw my hat in the air! You can see the complete list of finalists for all the categories here. Winners will be announced on October 23 at the WRMA ceremony and banquet in Ft. Worth, Texas. 

Congratulations to all the other finalists, and many thanks to the judges for all their hard work—they were apparently inundated with entries this year, which no doubt added to the complexity and time involved in reading and evaluating all the submittals.

Now, I'm off to scour the freezer for ice cream and to do a little celebrating...

More WRMA details and links on this page.

 

Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama Redux and News Flash: Knock me down with a feather

I have news to share, and an idiom to go with it...

MORTAL MUSIC, the seventh book in my Silver Rush series, has been nominated for the 2021 Macavity / Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery! 

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.

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

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?

 

News Flash!

Interrupting the week to announce A DYING NOTE is a finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award in the "Western Maverick" category.
According to the letter I received, the Western Maverick category is a new one, "honoring books that do not easily fit into another category, but which are deserving of recognition as outstanding works."
What can I say? I'm honored beyond words (and also pretty darn tickled and proud to be considered a maverick...)!
Winners will be announced at the 2019 Award Ceremony, Saturday, October 26th, 2019, at Los Vaqueros Restaurant in the Ft. Worth Stockyards.

Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Bang up to the elephant (AND News Flash!)

~~ NEWS FLASH! This just in: A DYING NOTE is a finalist (along with piles of other wonderful books) for the Foreword INDIE Award for Mystery. Winners in all categories will be announced on June 14. Click here to see categories and to view finalists. 
END NEWS FLASH! ~~
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 I know I promised to explore chicanery this week, but the news flash above, which I just had to share, has me exclaiming with great glee, "Well, isn't this just bang up to the elephant!"

And wouldn't you just looooove to know where what that phrase means, how old it is, and where it comes from? If so, just keep reading...
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Passing English of the Victorian Era: A Dictionary of Heterodox English, Slang, and Phrase by J. Redding Ware (1909) gives us this very complete entry:

Bang up to the Elephant (London, 1882): Perfect, complete, unapproachable. The 'Elephant' ( 'Elephant and Castle Tavern,' South London), had for years been the centre of South London tavern-life when (1882) Jumbo, an exceptionally large elephant at the Zoological Gardens, became popular through certain articles in the D. T.* The public were pleased to think Jumbo refused to leave England and the gardens for America. He, however, did ultimately, with no emotion, leave behind him this bit of passing English.

'The fly flat** thinks himself so blooming sharp, so right bang up to the elephant, that he's got an idea that no sharper*** would ever try to take him on.'

Jumbo at the opera, courtesy of an 1883 advertisement for cotton thread.
Buek and Lindner [Public domain]

*D. T. = Daily Telegraph 
** Fly flat (from 1864) = A foolish or gullible person who considers him- or herself clever. Found in Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang by John Ayto, John Simpson.
*** Sharper (from 17th century) = a thief who uses trickery to part an owner from his or her money possessions. Found in Wikipedia.

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]