Tuesday, March 04, 2014

How did this Begin?

Expressions begin somewhere before they gain momentum and enter the mainstream. According to the Big Site of Amazing Facts, the phrase "Dodge a Bullet" goes back to WWI when soldiers remarked that they could avoid artillery shells because they "arced through the air slowly enough to be seen."

Even erudite magazines use this phrase as a quick way to explain what they want to say, or a way of grabbing the readers attention. A recent article in Astrobiology Magazine—"Dodging the Extinction Bullet." That title captures an audience.

I enjoy finding the origins of a phrase. We do become rather persistent, as a society, when it comes to selecting a phrase and watching it appear everywhere, in print, in conversation, and in the news.

The phrase enchants, consumes our vocabulary, and holds us in her grip. We also hear overworked words infiltrate our world. Iconic is such a word.

Everything is iconic— check the web—"Iconic scenes" in Breaking Bad, 28 Most Iconic Feminist Moments. We surround ourselves with iconic figures, iconic moments, iconic architecture, iconic cars, and the list goes on and on.

Has iconic become the epitome of sloppy. Call something iconic and conjure up the epitome of that object, person, event. Forget having to explain why. Iconic is the new very.

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