face that launched a thousand ships, the

An exceptionally beautiful woman; or, ironically, someone lacking in beauty. The phrase comes from Christopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus (c. 1588), and describes Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Greece, whose legendary beauty led to her abduc- tion by Paris, which set off the Trojan War. “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?” wrote Marlowe.

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eagle-eyed

Keen-sighted, either literally or figuratively. Like all birds of prey, eagles of necessity have excellent eyesight, which they need to spot their food supply. Their perspicacity has been transferred to human beings since Roman times. Horace pointed out (Satires, 35 B.C.) that those who are eagle-eyed in spotting others’ faults are blind to their own. “Faith, being eagle-eyed, can . . . see the majestie of God,” wrote Bishop William Barlow
in 1601. Later the term was often put as having an eagle eye.

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eager beaver

An overzealous or extremely ambitious individual. The beaver has been known as an especially hard worker since at least the seven- teenth century, on a par with BUSY AS A BEE. It was only in the twentieth cen- tury that this not-quite-rhyming expression gained currency. It was widely used for overzealous recruits during World War II who chronically dis- obeyed the unwritten rule, Never volunteer, and rapidly became a cliché.

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dark horse, a

An unexpected potential winner. The term dates from the nineteenth century and comes from racing, where a horse is termed “dark” when its ancestry and history are unknown. It was so used by Benjamin Disraeli in his novel, The Young Duke (1831), but the precise origin is obscure. Some think it comes from the owner’s dyeing a horse’s hair to disguise it and so get better odds; others cite the practice of a particular American horse trader who made his fast black stallion look like an ordinary saddle horse, rode into town, set up a race, and consistently came out a winner. The term was soon transferred to political candidates on both sides of the Atlantic. The first American presidential dark horse was James Polk, who won the 1844 Democratic nomination only on the eighth ballot and went on to become president.

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darken my door (again), don’t/never

Go away and don’t come back. This expression, today indelibly affixed to Victorian melodrama in which a young woman is thrown out of the parental home for marrying, not marrying, or some other sinful deed, actually dates back much further. The darkening involved is that of one’s shadow across the threshold, a word occasionally substituted for “door.” Jonathan Swift used the term in Polite Conversation in 1738: “I never darkened his door in my life.” It has been a cliché since the nineteenth century, but may be dying out.

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dance attendance on, to

To obey someone’s slightest whim or wish, to act as someone’s obsequious flunky. The term comes from the ancient cus- tom of having the bride dance with every wedding guest, whether she wanted to or not. It has been used since the early sixteenth century, first in the sense of waiting for someone to grant an audience, as by John Skelton (Why Come Ye Not to Court? 1522), “And syr ye must daunce attendance . . . for my Lord’s Grace hath now no time nor space to speke with you as yet.” By Shakespeare’s time it had been extended to being at someone’s beck and call (“To dance attendance on their lordships’ pleasures,” Henry VIII, 5.2). It was a cliché by about 1700.

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damn with faint praise, to

To compliment so slightly that it amounts to no compliment at all, or even the reverse, a condemnation. The Roman writer Favorinus said, about A.D. 110, that it is more shameful to be praised faintly and coldly than to be censured violently. The practice was taken up early on, especially by literary critics. The classic quotation is from Alexan- der Pope’s Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot (1733). In poking fun at the critic Joseph Addison, here called Atticus, Pope said he would “Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, and, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer.” See also LEFT-HANDED COMPLIMENT.

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damn sight, a

A great deal. The noun “sight” has been so used since the first half of the 1800s, and the intensifier “damn” had been added by about 1930. Roy Campbell had it in The Georgiad (1931): “He could be heterosexual with either, too—A damn sight more than you or I could do!”

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call the shots

Be in charge, make all major decisions. This colloquialism, dating from the mid-1900s, probably alludes to target practice. David Bal- dacci used it in Hour Game (2004): “Okay, I was right; the feds call the shots and take the glory.” See also RUN THE SHOW.

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call someone’s bluff, to

To uncover a deception, or challenge someone to carry out a threat or prove a dubious point. The term comes from poker, where the players bet as to who has the best poker hand of them all. To bluff is to bet on a hand one does not believe is the best; to call means to match a bet, that is, bet an equivalent amount. When the cards are uncovered, whoever has the best hand wins the entire pot (all the money the players have put up). The term is American in origin and dates, like American poker, from the early 1800s. It was being transferred to other pursuits by the late nineteenth century; “Where shall we be when that bluff is called,” reads an entry in the Congressional Record (March 1896).

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call of nature

Euphemism for a need to use a toilet. The term dates from the mid-1700s. It appeared in Tailor and Cutter (Oct. 14, 1852): “The calls of nature are permitted and Clerical Staff may use the garden below the second gate.” Much more recently, a NewYork Times restaurant review by Frank Bruni told patrons, “Be sure to head downstairs to the bathrooms, even if nature doesn’t call” and goes on to describe their attractive appearance (Jan. 26, 2005). A similar euphemism, used mostly by women, is to powder one’s nose. Another euphemistic cliché for a restroom is little boys’ room, used by men no matter what their age.

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call it a day, to

To stop work for the time being. The phrase implies that a full day’s work has been done, whether or not the clock so indicates. Indeed, J. C. Neal in Charcoal Sketches (1838) spelled this out: “I’ve a great mind to knock off and call it half a day.” call it quits, to To stop doing something, either permanently or temporarily. Quits here has the meaning of acquittal or discharge, that is, release from obligation; the implication is that one has done enough and so has discharged one’s obligation. American in origin, the expression appears in a letter of Jack London’s (1898): “Tomorrow I would cut my throat and call quits with the whole cursed business.”

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call in question, to

To challenge or cast doubt on the truth of something. Since the simple verb “to question” suffices, this wordier version, a translation of the Latin in dubium vocare used in legal language, is unnecessary. It has been used since the sixteenth century, by John Lyly in Euphues (“That I should call in question the demeanour call it a day, to of all”), by Shakespeare in AsYou Like It (5.2), and many others.

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back to the salt mines

It’s time to return to work, implying reluctance to do so. The term refers to the Russian practice of sending prisoners to work in the salt mines of Siberia, common in both imperial and Communist times. Eric Partridge cited an authority who believes it came from a play called Siberia, which was popular in the 1890s.

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back to square one

Indication to start again from the beginning, because one has failed or has reached a dead end. The term probably came from a board game such as snakes and ladders or from a street game such as hopscotch, where an unlucky throw of dice or a marker forces the player to begin the course all over again. It was adopted by British sportscasters in the 1930s, when the printed radio program would include a numbered gridof a soccer (football) field to help listeners follow the game broadcasts.
The same sense is conveyed by back to the drawing board, a term originat ing during World War II, almost certainly from the caption of a cartoon by Peter Arno in the New Yorker magazine, which showed a man holding a set of blueprints and watching an airplane on the ground blow up.
A similar phrase with a slightly different sense is back to basics—that is, let’s go back to the beginning, or return to the fundamentals of a subject, problem, or other issue. The term dates from the mid-twentieth century and probably originated in either school or laboratory, where a subject was not clearly understood or an experiment of some kind failed.

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back the wrong horse

Make a wrong guess about a future outcome. The term comes from horse racing and is occasionally put as bet on the wrong horse,and has been used in this context since the late seventeenth century. It has long been applied to other situations, especially politics, where it means supporting a candidate who loses. Charles L. Graves used it in Punch’s Historyn(1922): “Lord Salisbury made his remarkable speech about our having backed the wrong horse, i.e. Turkey in the Crimean War.”

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backseat driver

A passenger who gives unasked-for and usually unwanted advice to the driver of a vehicle; by extension, anyone who inter- feres without having real responsibility or authority. The term originated in the United States during the 1920s, when many automobiles were chauffeur- driven and their passengers sat in the backseat, often quite legitimately telling the chauffeur where to go. Today the passenger’s location is irrele- vant, the term being principally figurative. It has largely replaced the older ARMCHAIR GENERAL. See also MONDAY-MORNING QUARTERBACK and the very different TAKE A BACKSEAT.

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back of one’s hand, to give (someone) the

To show contempt, to insult. “Here’s the back of my hand to you,” wrote Jonathan Swift (1738), perhaps signifying a challenging farewell. The back of the hand, of course, consists of knuckles, so the expression may once have meant a punch. Simi- larly, a backhanded compliment is actually malicious in intent.

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all over creation

Everywhere. This homespun cliché uses creation in the sense of everything in the world that, by implication, God created.

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all over but the shouting, it’s

all over but the shouting, it’s The outcome is certain, though it may not yet be widely known. Probably originating in the mid-nineteenth century, the phrase was first used for the outcome of sporting events, elections, and similar competitive undertakings, and still is.

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all other things (else) being equal

Given the same circumstances. This term began as the Latin phrase ceteris paribus; sometimes the word all is omitted, and else is substituted for other things. Eric Partridge held that the Latin form was already a cliché in the eighteenth century, and the English form became one in the late nineteenth century. Thomas Babington Macaulay was among the many learned writers who used it (although slightly differently) in his History of England (1849–61): “All other circum- stances being supposed equal . . .”

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all one’s ducks in a row, get/have

Be completely prepared and well organized. This colloquialism from the second half of the 1900s alludes to lining up target ducks in a shooting gallery. Sue Grafton used it in R Is for Ricochet (2004): “The trick is not to alert him until we have all our ducks in a row.”

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all in the/a day’s work

To be considered a normal part of one’s job or routine. Traced back to the eighteenth century, the expression occurred with considerable frequency and was used both seriously and ironically: “As the huntsman said when the lion ate him” (Charles Kingsley, Westward Ho!, 1855).

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damned if I/you/they do, damned if I/you don’t

Acting or not acting are equally harmful, an insoluble dilemma. This expression dates from the first half of the 1900s, and thus is older than the synonymous CATCH-22. For example, “If I tell Harry I’m going to John’s party and he’s not invited, both he and John will be furious—I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”

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all intents and purposes

all intents and purposes, for (to) In practical terms; virtually. Since intent and purpose mean the same thing, the term is a tautology. According to Eric Partridge, it has been a cliché since the mid-nineteenth century. It originated in English law in the 1500s, when it was even more long- windedly phrased, to all intents, constructions and purposes.

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