Have you started reading Brave New World yet? I have been listening to the audiobook and I have also started reading the book online. I have got to chapter 4. If you haven't started yet I really recommend it, it really gives you loads of food for thought. It's set in a topsy-turvy future world state with the motto COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY. In this world babies are selectively grown in great quantities in laboratories and conditioned to have certain charactersitics, preferences and abilities and perform specific roles in adult life. 'Suggestions' aimed at instilling traits and increasing consumption like 'I do love flying', 'I love having new clothes', 'Ending is better than mending', 'The more stitches, the less riches' are repeated to the people by hypnopaedia or learning through sleep. (Have you ever tried that as a way of learning a language? What were the results?) "Till at last the child's mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child's mind. And not the child's mind only. The adult's mind too–all his life long. The mind that judges and desires and decides–made up of these suggestions. But all these suggestions are our suggestions!" The Director almost shouted in his triumph. "Suggestions from the State." This might sound scandalous at first, but if you think about it also in our world we are constantly bombarded not only by messages, slogans and propaganda (Just Do It - Nike, Because you're Worth it - L'Oreal) but even by idioms and other fixed sayings in our everyday conversations which can be considered as a shorter way of expressing more complicated ideas in a catchy, memorable way (Don't judge a book by it's cover). When I read I try to notice some interesting language that I can share with you and as I read the first four chapters I noticed that there were idiomatic phrases, some repeated more than once, and I had the impression that this was done to underline the fact that the people in the story do not have their own individual ideas, their words are not their own but rather repeat phrases they have heard. Here are some of the idiomatic expressions from the book that we commonly use today, if you learn them you will sound like a member of the English speaking community! 1. Straight from the horse's mouth Many idiomatic expressions come from sports as it is a subject that many people have in common and can relate to. This one obviously comes from horse riding, which also involves betting on the winner of the race. Before placing a bet, the gambler can try to get some insider information on the best horses from those in closest touch with the horse, that is, stable lads, trainers etc. The only thing closer to the horse is the horse himself. Here is a quote from the Syracuse Herald, May 1913: "I got a tip yesterday, and if it wasn't straight from the horse's mouth it was jolly well the next thing to it." If you hear something (straight) from the horse's mouth, you hear it from the person who has direct personal knowledge of it or is an authority on the subject. In Brave New World the students use this expression when they write down the Director's words exactly as he says them as he gives them a tour of the laboratories. 2. below par "Nothing like oxygen-shortage for keeping an embryo below par." Chapter 1 Something below par is below average, or below the acceptable standard. This could also be associated with sport, this time golf. Par is the number of strokes an expert player should normally require for a particular hole or course. In golf, below or under par is positive because it means that the golfer uses fewer strokes than expected or standard. In other situations if a number is below par, it is not up to standard. But par can also be a financial term that refers to the face value of a share or other security, so below par could also mean under this value. Par comes from Latin, ‘equal’, also ‘equality of value or standing'. Associated phrases are above par - better than is usual or expected, on a par with - equal in importance or quality to and par for the course - what is normal or expected in any given circumstances. 3. be only too happy to do something 'Mr. Foster was only too happy to give them a few figures.' Chapter 1 This phrase means to be very willing to do something. You can use only too to emphasize to that something is true or exists to a much greater extent than you would expect or like. 'Know only too well that plans can easily go wrong.' 'When the new baby comes along, it is only too easy to shut out the others.' Her family knows only too tragically that running from the cameras does not end well. Times, Sunday Times (2016) It's only too easy to get stuck in routine. The Sun (2016) He knows only too well what this means for farmers. Times, Sunday Times (2008) The emperors were only too eager to help clarify that issue. Christianity Today (2000) He knows only too well that his foot and mouth connect all too easily. Times, Sunday Times (2015) 4. a very great deal "But in the interval," Mr. Foster concluded, "we've managed to do a lot to them. Oh, a very great deal." His laugh was knowing and triumphant. Chapter 1 A great deal means a large quantity, to a considerable degree or extent, by a considerable amount, often, frequently or highly. We can compare deal to lot, as lot means a portion. Deal as a verb comes from Old English daelan meaning divide or participate (in fact before starting a game of cards you have to deal the cards) which in turn comes from Ol Dutch 'deel' or German 'Teil' meaning part. 5. make a point of doing something "I shall make a point of going," said Henry Foster. Chapter 3 When you make a point of doing something you consciously and deliberately make an effort to do it, consider or treat (an action or activity) as indispensable. The point meaning "the matter being discussed" dates from the late 14c but the meaning "sense, purpose, advantage" is first recorded in 1903. "The point" of something is the reason for doing it. 6. it / that won't do 'It's such horribly bad form to go on and on like this with one man. At forty, or thirty-five, it wouldn't be so bad. But at your age, Lenina! No, it really won't do.' Chapter 3 This is used for saying that a particular situation or way of behaving is not sensible or suitable. The verb do can also mean be suitable, acceptable, enough or sufficient. "if you can't get espresso, regular coffee will do" Everything in Brave New World is opposite to how it is in our world. Here promiscuity is encouraged and monogamy frowned upon. 7. be a a stickler for something Trust Henry Foster to be the perfect gentleman–always correct. And then there's the Director to think of. You know what a stickler …" Chapter 3 A stickler is a person who insists on a certain quality or type of behaviour. The noun originates from Old English stihtian to set in order and English stightle control. 8. hullabaloo "This last week or two," he went on, "I've been cutting all my committees and all my girls. You can't imagine what a hullabaloo they've been making about it at the College. Chapter 4 Everyone agrees that a hullabaloo is a a commotion, a fuss but the origins are not so clear. Perhaps it comes from hunting, a rhyming cry halloo-baloo! (halloo meaning hello). The old Scots term baloo, means a lullaby, a soothing song to calm a baby to sleep, but the connection with our hullabaloo seems contradictory. Other suggestions are that it comes from French, hurluberlu meaning scatter-brained, or from the English hurly-burly, a contracted form of hurling and burling, where a hurling is an even older term for a commotion, disturbance or tumult. Burling may be just a rhyme of the the first word, as has happened also in namby-pamby, itsy-bitsy and others. I prefer the theory that it comes from India. When I read The Great Gatsby I discovered that the phrase 'The Big Cheese' meaning the most important person originated in India from chiz meaning thing or the real genuine thing. The term 'Hullabol' is still used in Indian English to describe a type of public demonstration, involving making a great noise. 'Hulla' is either derived from 'Hamla' meaning 'attack' or from 'halhala' meaning 'ululation' (both words from Persian and then Urdu). 'Bol' is from the Hindi verb 'bolna', 'to utter or say'. I found all these expressions in the first four chapters of Brave New World. Even a little reading can offer many opportunities to learn, so don't get discouraged, let's move on through this Brave New World together in 2019! Which other idiomatic phrases can you find? Tell me in the comments.
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What is this?When I started lostinclassics I looked for language lessons in the books I was reading, such as for example the use of phrasal verbs or inversion in conditionals and I explained them through examples found in the text. I also did reviews of the books I read and tried to give some advice on how to read classics using the various resources I know of. Then I switched to just reviews and lately I have been doing a bit of creative writing inspired by my reading. Who knows what I will come up with next! Archives
September 2020
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