IDIOMS I

By Segun Omolayo

In this edition, we are starting a new series focusing on some English idioms. But before that, one more word on misusages, to highlight the mess some writers make of the term worth.

Worth

Isn’t it awkward to use the adjective worth as follows?

It is worth to recall that Liberia is one of the first countries to successfully implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

The word worth, which is both a noun and an adjective, is frequently misused, because “many writers are often uncertain of its category and functions; hence, the notorious discomfort with handling it. In the sentence, it has been used as an adjective, but wrongly so. When used, as in the sentence, to indicate that it is useful to do something, it is followed by the –ing form of the verb required” (“Pop” Errors).Here is what’s meant:

It is worth recalling that Liberia is one of the first countries to successfully implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

The book suggests that, “Alternatively, another adjectival inflection of worth could be adopted, thus:

It is worthy of recall that Liberia is one of the first countries to successfully implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Now then, let us turn our attention to idioms. Idioms are actually an aspect in usage, because with everything else we have discussed under the rubric of misusages, idioms share the characteristic of set meanings and structures that must not be carelessly tampered with, not even in the guise of metaphoric liberty. According to “Pop” Errors, our writers’ companion, “An idiom is a phrase where together the words have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words.” It also says “an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.” It explains further that the meaning of an idiom “is not the regular sum of the meanings of its component parts. It is important to recognize English idioms as the special property of the language. Its etymology from the Latin word idioma, meaning special property, attests to that. It behoves the user therefore to understand and interpret an English idiom as stipulated by the convention of the language. Even when the writer takes creative liberty, the idioms are not to be distorted in both form and meaning.” Let us now explore “what not to do with English idioms,” using some common examples.

Read Also: Sundry Misusages XXXIX: Verbs following verbs . . . plus more

By hook or by crook

It seems people just apply this idiom as they please, caring for neither its structure nor the injunction not to tamper with idioms recklessly. The distortion of this idiom in the sentence below will bear out this impression:

Godfathers endanger the nation’s democracy . . . as they work assiduously for the victory of the godson through crook or hook means.

The correct idiom here is by hook or by crook, NOT through crook or hook as used.  According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, this idiom describes the attitude of “using any method you can, even a dishonest one.” Worse still, the distorted form of the idiom has been used wrongly to modify the noun means, thereby muddling meaning further. Correct usage is:

Godfathers endanger the nation’s democracy . . . as they work assiduously for the victory of the godson by hook or by crook.

Kindly note the excision of the word means from the correction. It has been excised because it serves no purpose in that position, particularly as the meaning of the idiom embeds the idea of means. In other words, the noun means is rendered redundant by the self-contained meaning of the idiom.

Catches cold

Often, you see funny adaptations of the saying that when someone sneezes, somebody else catches cold. The statement below is such a poor adaptation:

When it sneezes, the nation cashes cold. . . .

Catches cold is the correct expression, NOT cashes cold. This kind of error is traceable to incorrect pronunciation, especially with people who see no difference between the sh and ch sounds. Catches cold “is used to connote that when somebody does something, someone else feels the impact. In this example, it suggests that when a certain thing happens, the nation is affected adversely.” So, the idea should be correctly expressed thus:

When it sneezes, the nation catches cold. . . .

Rest/sit on your laurels

What you read frequently from many writers is the garbled version of this idiom, as in the statement below:

He charged security agencies not to rest on their oars until kidnappers are arrested and brought to justice.

Rest/sit on your laurels is the original idiom curiously altered in the statement above. It means “to feel so satisfied with what you have already achieved that you do not try to do any more.” You are resting on your laurels when, for example, you made a first class degree and refuse to develop yourself any further, taking your first degree achievement as the ultimate, whereas in today’s world, that may not be worth more than a good starting point.  To make ourselves clear, we re-cast the sentence in consideration as follows:

He charged security agencies not to rest on their laurels until kidnappers are arrested and brought to justice.