Lousy-swell – Back in the 1950s, the “I Love Lucy” show was No. 1 in America, featuring the zany antics of Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo. In one episode, Lucy and her Cuban husband, Ricky, agreed to take English language lessons, both to improve her tattered grammar and his often-indecipherable Spanglish. With neighbors Fred and Ethel Mertz joining in, the tutor began the first lesson with the admonition that two words could never be uttered in his class.
“The first is ‘lousy’ and the other is ‘swell,’” he told them.
“Fine,” responded grumpy, bald old Fred. “Give us the lousy one first!”
.... A swell way to get off to a lousy start, no?
Bug – If something “bugs” you, it’s bothersome ... like a gnat buzzing around your nose. But a bothersome associate can be told to “bug off!” meaning to leave (“split,” in the vernacular of the 1960s flower child). Similarly, an Army squadron might similarly “bug out” if an enemy is approaching in overwhelming force.
You can also “plant a bug” without worrying about funeral expenses for a dead fly: A bug is what a spy or undercover police agent plants when secreting an electronic listening device in a bad guy’s hotel room. And, if it’s influenza season, you might “catch a bug,” meaning you’ve caught a virus and are feeling “under the weather.” If you do, your co-workers might “put a bug in your ear” to stay home in bed so they don’t catch it.
Mission – The Alamo is a mission – a church mission – and the “mission” of the soldiers quartered there in 1837 was to defend it as a fortress against an invading Mexican army until reinforcements could arrive. A trip aboard the Space Shuttle is also a mission, conducted, appropriately enough, by mission specialists.
Today, corporations make “mission statements” to define for employee the overarching purpose and goals of the company. But any person who exudes urgency in undertaking a task – simple or complex – is said to “be on a mission.”
Shower – When a mission ends, the sweaty Army officer requires a shower, perhaps rinsing away the celebratory confetti that was showered over his head .... as a bride might be showered with gifts at ... her bridal shower.
A major-league pitcher gets sent to the showers when his manager comes to the mound to substitute a reliever ... at which time the pitcher might be showered with boos from the crowd. Meteor showers, rain showers, snow showers – so many confusing variants, so little time.
Kill time – Finally, when a person “has time to kill,” one, naturally enough, “kills time.” It’s unclear what weapon might be used, as is the potential punishment for the murder. But this phrase, cannily enough, always seems politically incorrect and potentially befuddling. After all, what did time ever do to you that you should want to kill it?
Is it fair to kill time when you’re buried in work? And what is “time-and-a-half,” anyway? If you get twenty years in prison for killing time, do you get thirty for doing in time-and-a-half?
Next: Cultural literacy and the American writer
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