Monday, 25 May 2009

• Credible Creations of Catchphrases!

  In light of the tremendous success and adulation that the previous series brought with it (It wouldn't be an exaggeration to think of Beatlemania and supplicants visiting at 2 am asking for babies) I’ve decided to continue along the repetitive strain by creating a new series which I hope will receive as many awards as the previous ones have. Now, as I’m sure you’re all familiar with the premise of our most recent series, I won’t have to remind you that it involved much group interaction. That’s fun, of course – a lot of people enjoy the opportunity to get involved, but for this series I’d like to rebalance things a little, and shift them back towards onesided presentation. So, all that said, I’d like to introduce you to Credible Creations of Catchphrases!. Herein, I shall take it upon myself to examine a few select terms or phrases that have become common throughout the English language (or at least as far as modern vernacular is concerned). I think that my 45 years experience in linguistics qualify me for this topic (not to mention my 7 degrees, 2 of which have something to do with linguistics, if you squint a little.)
  
  So, for our first part of the series, we're going to look at the word "fluke," meaning an accidental advantage, or stroke of good luck (thanks, dictionary.com). This is a fascinating case of context lost. You see, in the 19th century whaling was a large and profitable industry (as was wailing, I'm told). As Captain Ahab has taught us all, a man, a harpoon, and a whale set the stage for an epic struggle. Unfortunately, killing a 30 tonne animal with a sharpened stick could be a bit difficult. Sometimes, the first throw didn't do the trick, and on some occasions the conflict could become quite dragged out.
  
  However, successful whalers quickly learned that whales have a crucial weak spot - their flukes. Whalers discovered that this spot, unlike the body of the whale, had much thinner skin, and a great many blood vessels close to the surface, and a solid hit would cause the whale to bleed to death in only a few minutes. However, it was quite difficult to hit, being relatively small, and in constant motion. Thus, should a whaler manage to hit the whale's fluke with the harpoon, this fluke shot, or fluke, was a lucky but successful shot! Unfortunately, the context of the phrase has fallen away, and all we remember today is the word "fluke," and the definition.
  
  
  Thar she blows!
  
  So there you have it! The first part of another patented nikbv series! Be sure to recommend so that everybody can enjoy as much as we have! Also, feel free to suggest further topics for discussion in later episodes!
  

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