American
“Exceptionalism”
While I find
some things “American” not only unexceptional (racism, cultural bigotry,
classism, “weaponized” religion) but, in too many cases deplorable, there are
some things which are uniquely American. Many of these are in the
area of language. I don’t mean just English, here, but more the idiomatic
meanings we attach that make it difficult for a non-native speaker to figure
out exactly what the hell the speaker means. Jeff Foxworthy has done this to, a
great extent (and for many yucks) for
bastardized and mutilated redneck speech, so I won’t go there. However much
remain to be discussed.
“Critters,” as
most of us know, refers to sentient non-human life forms. Most are unaware that
the word stems from the word “Creature.” It’s just bad diction multiplied by years
of abuse. Unlike “critters” which has standard English roots, America has
spawned idioms which make no sense anywhere else. A Brit, getting into a car
and hearing a passenger yell “Shotgun,” would probably duck and cover. The word
stems from the American west and the guard riding beside the driver of a
stagecoach with a shotgun for protection. How it evolved to modern automobiles
is anyone’s guess. The same is true for “shotgun wedding” - a usage strictly
American.
Some more of
these would include “lipstick on a pig,” (tart up something plain to create the
illusion of relevance or value) and “break a bill” (ask for change). “Fanny pack” takes more explanation. “Fanny”
in real English refers to the forward most lady bits. Somehow, over time, the
term in US “English” came to mean the after part. Asking the wrong Londoner for
a “fanny pack” might cause trouble.
Then there’s “Jump
the Shark,” as in “I think American Idol Jumped the Shark when Adam Lambert
lost!” Plenty of Americans also don't
totally “get” why we use this phrase to describe when a TV show or some other
work goes on longer than it should. The phrase originated with an event in a
1977 episode of the sitcom Happy Days in which Fonzie jumps over a shark
while on water-skis. Since the “stunt” was considered gratuitous and
sensational it gradually became used to describe any episode of a television
comedy with a gimmick or unlikely occurrence desperately attempting to keep
viewers' interest in the series' run. It has since become a kind of derisive shorthand
for when something ceases to be culturally relevant—or any good, but only in
America!
“First
base/ second base,” as most US teenagers know, are euphemisms for stages of attempts
(usually adolescent) at seduction of the fairer sex. Elsewhere they are the
cause of blank stares, although the “base” part is becoming more widely understood
in Australia and Britain (but not in the same context) as American baseball is
becoming more popular both places.
As far as I am
able to determine, if any group of people from various cultures were forced to
consume feces (stay with me here) only Americans (if any) would “grin.” A possible but anecdotal source for this one
is that the expression “shit-eating grin” may refer to the expression that
appears on a dog’s face when it’s caught gobbling up a pile of fecal material
deposited by another animal. We’ve all seen how a dog can curl up its lips in a
semblance of a grin. And we’ve also seen dogs whose buffet could be found in a
cat’s litter box. Either way, it’s a sheepish grin caused by being caught in
the act. (Or maybe the lip motion helps clean the stuff off their teeth.)
Also, in most
cultures where English is spoken, it is considered unnecessary to stipulate
“Horseback riding” since there really is no other place to sit while
participating.
Other examples
include “piece of cake,” which probably derives from a line in "The
Primrose Path," a 1935 poetry collection by American humorist Ogden Nash:
"Her picture's in the papers now, and life's a piece of cake." Brits
don’t get it. Even more lost on the rest of the English-speaking world are some
sport specifics such as “Monday morning quarterbacking” for second guessing a
decision already made and acted on, and “ballpark figure” used for
“guesstimation”.
It might
surprise many that “break a leg,” in widespread use in the theater, is uniquely
American and first appeared in print in a 1948 newspaper article. There is
speculation that it devolved from a Hebrew blessing, "hatzlakha
u-brakha" ("success and blessing”) and likely entered the current lexicon
via Yiddish, widely spoken by Jewish immigrants in the American theatrical
community.
I’ll close with
a scatological reference. We often say that a thing, idea or whatever which we
devalue, don’t like, or disrespect is “for the birds.” It has no similar meaning anywhere else. It
is generally attributed to US Army personnel who, seeing birds enthusiastically
pecking at horse droppings, decided that anything analogous to horseshit was,
well, you get the picture.
If I was going
to autograph this poor screed, I might say I would affix “my John Hancock” which
has no meaning to any other culture than American, since Hancock was the American
statesman whose lavish and large signature is seen on the 1776 U.S. Declaration
of Independence document. Not a high point with Brits.
No comments:
Post a Comment