Essay on Origins of Popular Sayings - 1306 Words

English is an amazing language that reflects many different cultures. Americans have many popular sayings and figures of speech that, if taken literally, make no logical sense. If you mention the phrases â€Å"white elephant,† â€Å"spill the beans,† or â€Å"to pull someone’s leg,† they make no sense unless you are familiar with the culture. The word â€Å"idiom† is used to describe these forms of speech. Idioms are considered to be part of a nation’s culture, and idioms can make learning a foreign language quite challenging. Scholars have estimated American English to contain at least 25,000 idiomatic expressions. People learning a new language must memorize the meanings of these phrases like vocabulary, because the interpretations of idioms can be†¦show more content†¦The origin of this popular saying will make you smile. In the early 1700’s an English dramatist named John Dennis created an invention that would simulate the sound of thunder in one of his theatrical productions. His play failed dismally. However, later he found that his invention was used to create the sound of thunder in another performance. Dennis was quoted as saying, â€Å"They will not let my play run, but they steal my thunder!† The phrase was overheard, passed along and became a popular saying used in the English language. â€Å"To Spill the Beans† When someone â€Å"spills the beans,† they reveal a secret unintentionally. This popular saying has its origin back in the days of ancient Greece. When people were voted into many organizations, the membership voted secretly using colored beans as counters. If one voted for the inclusion of the applicant, one would discretely drop a white bean into an opaque container. If one voted against the applicant, one would secretly drop a black or brown bean in the container. Only the officials knew the results of the voting. Occasionally, an awkward person might accidentally knock over the container, spilling the beans and revealing the results of the vote before the appointed time. This is how the phrase â€Å"spilling the beans† has come to describe someone telling a secret. â€Å"To Bite the Bullet† If you have to withstandShow MoreRelatedMusic, Blues And Ragtime1337 Words   |  6 PagesTwo of the styles of music which added to the development and birth of jazz were the blues and ragtime. I argue that Jazz as a genre was a coalition between two popular forms of music, blues and ragtime. These two genres created jazz together through their origins, musical characteristics, and large number of performers. Ragtime’s origins can be seen as a major reason towards its development of jazz. Ragtime is an art form which came from, â€Å"African spirituals, minstrel songs and marches† (Jazz film)Read MoreWhat Were the Underlying Causes of Wwi Dbq Essay899 Words   |  4 Pageswar against three European countries England, France, and Russian versus Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Friedrich Engels explains in The Origins of the First World War (Doc A) the aftermath of the Thirty Years War caused many devastating effects like famine, sickness, want and brutalizing the population and this is being compared to World War I saying that the same outcome happened in three or four years instead of thirty. World War I was caused by different factors nationalism is one of theRead MoreThe Importance Of Having A Good Name?920 Words   |  4 Pagesdistinguish his name from other sounds. So the names â€Å"Rocky† or â€Å"Gunner† are definitely on the A-list. †¢ No command-sounding names. It is also advised to keep away from names that sound like commands to prevent your dog from getting confused of what you are saying. For example, giving your male dog the name â€Å"Joe† may confuse him when you say â€Å"no,† and he will not be able to pick up the command immediately. †¢ Number of syllables. Most experts would advise to get a name with one or two syllables only. This isRead More Hungarian Peasant and Folk Music Essay1562 Words   |  7 Pagesthough. Gypsy music used to be the basis of all generalizations about Hungarian music. It was Ferenc Liszts monumental error to state that Gypsy music is the creation of gypsies. The so called gypsy scale points to a southern oriental (Arabic) origin and may possibly have reached Hungary through the gypsies. This music falsifies Hungarian folk songs by introducing augmented intervals of the Gypsy scales, which scales were never used by peasants. Some of the gypsy composers e.g. Pista DankoRead MoreEssay about The Origin of the Game of Basketball1391 Words   |  6 Pagesalthough, few actually know where or how this widely popular sport was created. From this paper, one will acquire information about the origin of the game of basketball, how the game has evolved over time, and basketball as a business. â€Å"The two questions that I am most commonly asked when I am discussing basketball with persons whom I have just met are, How did you come to think of it? and What changes have taken place in the game since its origin?†Ã¢â‚¬  (Naismith 61). The game of basketball startedRead MoreAn Extension Of White Washed Americ Black History Month1039 Words   |  5 PagesAn Extension of White Washed America: Black History Month Intro: February is arguably one of the most popular months of the year. It has the fourth most celebrated holiday, chocolates and candies are on sale, and it honors the central role of those of African descent in U.S. history. This month is referred to as Black History Month. One moth to celebrate ALL of black history. To celebrate our African ancestors who were chained and thrown on ships. To celebrate our people enslaved on the plantationsRead MoreBuddhism(Informative Speech)958 Words   |  4 PagesInformative Outline Topic: The Buddhism General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about some main beliefs of one of the most popular religions, the Buddhism. Thesis: From Buddhism to any individual, the Buddhism and Buddhist beliefs become one of the most influential religions in the world. i. Introduction A. Attention Getter: â€Å"God said, let there be light: and there was light.† For Christians, Jesus is their only God. However, as the founder of another famousRead MoreRap Music And Its Effects On Society1535 Words   |  7 Pagesthe name of Sugar Hill Gang and their hit single to begin the era â€Å"Rapper’s Delight† Rap was about peace, harmony and just hanging out at a party, but r=this precedent split into more violent distorted versions of the genre such as the more 1990s popular genre of â€Å"Gangsta Rap† or the more recent rap music that glorifies sexual themes, practices and criminal mischief. This violent rap music has been seen to have harmful and undesirable effects on the behavior of adolescents as seen in many academicRead MoreThe Usage Of Euphemisms And Colloquialisms1696 Words   |  7 Pagesin my home town, Kewaunee Wisconsin, and one I get very strange looks for here in North Dakota. In this paper I am going to describe to you: h ow I use balls and ballsy in conversation with my social groups and what many different meanings, the origins of the word, the overall reflection of the colloquialism along with other words that may have a hidden power. The word balls, as well as the word ballsy, can be used as a colloquialism in numerous ways and be interpreted differently in contextRead MoreEssay on Christian Beliefs in the Origins of the World511 Words   |  3 PagesChristian Beliefs in the Origins of the World â€Å"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.† A Description of Christian Beliefs About the Origins of The World Christians believe that God created the universe. In Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, we are told that God creates both the universe and everything that is in it. Thomas

Sexual Attraction By Melville Is Not As Strong With...

Although the sexual attraction described by Melville is not as strong with Captain Fairfax Vere, the attraction is still heavily within the text. Melville uses much of the same innuendo with Vere as he does with Claggart in terms of their attraction to Billy Budd. He is described as having a â€Å"dreaminess of mood† (Melville 25). Yet again there is a descriptive phrase Melville uses that makes the reader question his sexuality. Melville writes, â€Å"But between you and me, don’t you think there is a queer streak of the pedantic running through him† (28)? Although Melville may not have intended the word â€Å"queer† to have a double connotation, but with today’s reading the word ‘queer’ is an umbrella term for homosexuality. But even without the double meaning, it makes the reader pay attention to Vere and since he is an over scrupulous man, the word makes his actions to maintain order, fit him. Since Vere is out of the ordinary in so me way, the reader will thus be more attentive to his behavior, just as they are with Claggart. Vere’s feelings towards Billy begin to become apparent after Claggart turns Billy in. Billy had, â€Å"naturally enough attracted the captain’s attention from the first† (Melville 63). Melville goes on to write that Vere saw Billy as, â€Å"a fine specimen of the genus homo, who in the nude might have posed for a statue of young Adam before the fall (63). Captain Vere thinks very highly of Billy, and has also imagined him nude. The handsome sailor invokes these feelings

Challenges Of Being A Single Parent free essay sample

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 1 in 10 new mothers is a teen, and ore than 400,000 teen girls give birth each year ( Teen Parenting). Most of the teens, which gets pregnant decide to raise the child as a single parent. Teenage mothers and fathers face many serious challenges, like finding a job, finishing school, and paying all kinds of new bills ( Teen Parenting). Some of the single parents also decide to give their child up for adoption. Approximately nonwhite of all teen pregnancies end in abortion ( Teen Fatherhood). Teen pregnancy is a very important topic because it is common among the tee ens.Many teenaged girls face a lot of problems, such as health risk, financial problem and emotion al pain. Most of the guys leave after getting a girl pregnant, and the girl has to deal with things listed above. This issue not only effect one life but multiple lifes at once. We will write a custom essay sample on Challenges Of Being A Single Parent or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Especially for a teen, it is very hard to make a huge decision that will have an impact on them for the rest of their life surveys and interviews will be conduct Of the people who are single parent or they know single parent. Lit is a good idea to get the perceptions of the people who know single parent and what they think about the challenges that they face.Surveys of about 10 girl and 10 boys and for intervening there would be 2 girls and 2 boys. There should be an equal ammo nut of gender so that the information is not biased. Some of the challenges that will be faced is the fact that there are a lot of Muslim people in the neighborhood and some might wont want to ids cuss this issue.

Platinum Essays (896 words) - Chemical Elements, Transition Metals

Platinum I am a silvery metal that is as resistant to corrosion and tarnishing as gold. I am almost as rare and consequently am the likewise highly valued and used in Jewelry. I am also used in chemicals industry as a catalyst, in medicine as an anti-cancer drug, and in catalytic converters for car exhausts. I have an atomic number ok 78, my atomic weight is 195.09 (when rounded 195) and a symbol of Pt. Who am I? I'm platinum of coarse! Platinum is a member of the six transition elements in Group VIII of the periodic table known collectively as the platinum metals (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum). The name is derived from the Spanish platina, meaning, silver. The element was discovered in South America independently by Antonio de Ulloa in 1735 and by N. Wood in 1741, but it had been in use by pre-Columbian Indians. The platinum metals are extremely rare elements; platinum itself is the most common, with an abundance in the Earth's crust of about a millionth of 1 percent, whereas the others of the group have abundance's of about one ten-millionth of 1 percent. Platinum occurs in nature as the pure metal and also in alloys with other metals of the group, principally in the alluvial deposits of the Ural Mountains, of Columbia, and of some parts of the western United States. In addition the element occurs in the mineral sperrylite and in the nickel-bearing deposits of Ontario in Canada. The large-scale production of nickel makes it feasible to recover the small amounts of platinum (only 1 part of platinum to 2 million parts of ore). The recovery of the individual platinum metals from the natural alloys is a complex process that depends upon the distinct properties of the individual elements, even though all members of the group are generally similar in their chemical behavior and are quite unreacti ve. For example, when the natural alloy of platinum, palladium, osmium, and rhodium is digested with aqua regia, the palladium and platinum dissolve and are extracted as a solution of chloropalladic acid and chloroplatinic acid. Platinum is then precipitated from this solution as ammonium chloroplatinate. Platinum is an attractive silvery white metal with a melting point of 1,774 deg C, a boiling point of 3,827 deg C and a density of 21.45 g/cu cm at room temperature. It has a coefficient of thermal expansion close to that of soda-lime-silica glass and is consequently used to make sealed electrodes in soft-glass systems. The predominant oxidation states of platinum are +2 and +4. Platinum is chemically inert and will not oxidize in air at any temperature. It is resistant to acids and is not attacked by any single mineral acid but dissolves readily in aqua regia. The metal is rapidly attacked by fused alkali oxides and by peroxides and will react with fluorine and, at red heat, with chlorine. On heating, platinum combines directly with elemental phosphorus, silicon, lead, arsenic, antimony, sulfur, and selenium, a fact that influences the use of platinum laboratory equipment. In keeping with the other members of the platinum group, the metal shows a fairly strong tendency to form complex ions. The most common Pt (II) complexes have square planar structures and are diamagnetic. Because of its inertness and attractive appearance, one of the major uses of platinum is in the manufacture of jewelry. Gold-platinum alloys, referred to as white gold, are widely used in dentistry and in the making of jewelry. Platinum and its alloys are used in the manufacture of crucibles and evaporating dishes for chemical analyses. Other applications include the formation of thermocouple wires, electrical contacts, corrosion-resistant apparatus, and the manufacture of platinum resistance thermometers used in the temperature control of furnaces. The alloy, consisting of 76.7% platinum and 23.3% cobalt by weight, forms an extremely powerful magnet. More recent applications of the metal involve the coating of missile cones and jet-engine fuel nozzles. Along with palladium, the metal absorbs large volumes of hydrogen, retaining it at ordinary temperatures but desorbing it at red heat. The fact that the absorbed hydrogen is extremely reactive suggests that it is present either as atomic hydrogen or as a very reactive platinum-hydrogen compound or complex. In finely divided form platinum