Okay. Take the pink away..and imagine my foot in the berks... My foot is getting along well, but the berks make me tippsier than usual. Which is pretty tippsy! I am trying to get up the courage to try my shoes, but my toe looks so new and innocent I am having a hard time working up to it. Next post.George is still sick. The garden wonders where he is. To say nothing about the golf course!
I am about to start reading "The Shack" for book club. Everyone who reads it seems to be thrilled with it. I am waiting until close to the date we will be discussing it so that my memory is up to snuff. Where does the expression "up to snuff" come from? If anyone knows please let me know. I keep saying I will get one of those books that explain where old sayings come from, but I haven't done that yet..... As far as I know! This memory thing is for the birds. (Oops. There's another expression.)
Well off to another day with my nose to the grindstone... (oops) Take care.
9 comments:
I missed you at the gym this morning. I have appointments in Alexandria today. Good thing to do on a dreary day. I am off to the races! (Oops)
You should hang around Tim and hear the sayings HE says! I'm sure I have some but I will have to think of them. You know how I have to have time and not be rushed!
It was a treat to see the picture of your shoes! It is so cute!! And I can just imagine those cute little feet in them.
Ask and you shall receive...
[Q] “What is the origin of the phrase up to snuff?”
[A] The snuff here is tobacco: nothing to do with the verb meaning to extinguish. Several colloquial phrases are recorded that used the word snuff, most of which date from the early part of the nineteenth century in Britain, when snuff-taking was still common, but less fashionable than it had been fifty years before.
The first meaning of up to snuff was somebody who was sharp, not easily fooled. This may have come from the idea of snuff being itself a sharp preparation, but perhaps because it was mainly taken by men of adult years and some affluence (it was expensive) who would be able to appreciate the quality of snuff and distinguish between examples of different value. The evidence isn’t there to be sure about its exact origin, though an early form of the phrase was up to snuff and a pinch above it, which at least confirms it did indeed relate to tobacco.
Whatever its origin, the meaning of the phrase shifted slightly after a while to imply somebody who was efficient and capable; later still it often meant that something was up to standard, or of the required quality. It was in this sense very similar to another expression of the time, up to scratch. This comes from prize-fighting, in which the scratch was the line across the floor that a contestant had to touch with his toe to indicate he was ready to fight.
The Ear Guy
No wonder you love the Ear guy-I now love him too.
I CANNOT believe that you now have the ear guy reading your blog...that's awesome and it could only happen to you mom! You are hilarious. I really enjoyed hearing about the origin of those words. excellent.
The Ear Guy? Too funny! Now I know why you clicked with him. . . Curious minds think alike. Now we know there is more to him than meets the ear. (Yes I know it isn't quite like that but work with me huh?) I have this weird sense of humor and I crack myself up. Doesn't help that it is nearly 11 pm and I am still waiting for my hubby to come home.
We have definitely met the quota for comments. . . . next blog please. . . (drum roll). . ..
Up to snuff
Meaning
Initially, the phrase meant 'sharp and in the know'; more recently, 'up to the required standard'.
Origin
'Up to snuff' originated in the early 19th century. In 1811, the English playwright John Poole wrote Hamlet Travestie, a parody of Shakespeare, in the style of Doctor Johnson and George Steevens, which included the expression.
"He knows well enough The game we're after: Zooks, he's up to snuff." &
"He is up to snuff, i.e. he is the knowing one."
A slightly later citation of the phrase, in Grose's Dictionary, 1823, lists it as 'up to snuff and a pinch above it', and defines the term as 'flash'. This clearly shows the derivation to be from 'snuff', the powdered tobacco that had become fashionable to inhale in the late 17th century. The phrase derives from the stimulating effect of taking snuff. The association of the phrase with sharpness of mind was enhanced by the fashionability and high cost of snuff and by the elaborate decorative boxes that it was kept in.
The later meaning of 'up to standard', in the same sense as 'up to scratch' (see also: 'start from scratch') began to be used around the turn of the 20th century.
Copyright © Gary Martin, 1996 - 2008
from carol jean
How come my definition of the up to snuff didn't get on?
I love these, have a site on favorites to look up any saying in the English language.
Ear guy, I know you. You are my ear guy too and I'll hear you again soon.
He or she who has ears to hear, listen. If you can't hear me, go see the ear guy.
He's very cute.
And about the age of my youngest children.
Everybody, if you like calories and cholesterol, come to Christina Lake Lutheran Church's dinner tomorrow night - full cream scallopped potatoes and meat balls (secret recipe) and all the trimmings including home-made pie. Also bake sale.
Carol Jean
Post a Comment On: Still kickin'"Tuesday"
8 Comments - Show Original Post
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karen l said...
I missed you at the gym this morning. I have appointments in Alexandria today. Good thing to do on a dreary day. I am off to the races! (Oops)
10:54 AM
Karen W said...
You should hang around Tim and hear the sayings HE says! I'm sure I have some but I will have to think of them. You know how I have to have time and not be rushed!
It was a treat to see the picture of your shoes! It is so cute!! And I can just imagine those cute little feet in them.
5:10 PM
Anonymous said...
Ask and you shall receive...
[Q] “What is the origin of the phrase up to snuff?”
[A] The snuff here is tobacco: nothing to do with the verb meaning to extinguish. Several colloquial phrases are recorded that used the word snuff, most of which date from the early part of the nineteenth century in Britain, when snuff-taking was still common, but less fashionable than it had been fifty years before.
The first meaning of up to snuff was somebody who was sharp, not easily fooled. This may have come from the idea of snuff being itself a sharp preparation, but perhaps because it was mainly taken by men of adult years and some affluence (it was expensive) who would be able to appreciate the quality of snuff and distinguish between examples of different value. The evidence isn’t there to be sure about its exact origin, though an early form of the phrase was up to snuff and a pinch above it, which at least confirms it did indeed relate to tobacco.
Whatever its origin, the meaning of the phrase shifted slightly after a while to imply somebody who was efficient and capable; later still it often meant that something was up to standard, or of the required quality. It was in this sense very similar to another expression of the time, up to scratch. This comes from prize-fighting, in which the scratch was the line across the floor that a contestant had to touch with his toe to indicate he was ready to fight.
The Ear Guy
2:23 PM
I am married said...
No wonder you love the Ear guy-I now love him too.
3:58 PM
Naomi said...
I CANNOT believe that you now have the ear guy reading your blog...that's awesome and it could only happen to you mom! You are hilarious. I really enjoyed hearing about the origin of those words. excellent.
5:09 PM
Karen W said...
The Ear Guy? Too funny! Now I know why you clicked with him. . . Curious minds think alike. Now we know there is more to him than meets the ear. (Yes I know it isn't quite like that but work with me huh?) I have this weird sense of humor and I crack myself up. Doesn't help that it is nearly 11 pm and I am still waiting for my hubby to come home.
We have definitely met the quota for comments. . . . next blog please. . . (drum roll). . ..
10:48 PM
Anonymous said...
Up to snuff
Meaning
Initially, the phrase meant 'sharp and in the know'; more recently, 'up to the required standard'.
Origin
'Up to snuff' originated in the early 19th century. In 1811, the English playwright John Poole wrote Hamlet Travestie, a parody of Shakespeare, in the style of Doctor Johnson and George Steevens, which included the expression.
"He knows well enough The game we're after: Zooks, he's up to snuff." &
"He is up to snuff, i.e. he is the knowing one."
A slightly later citation of the phrase, in Grose's Dictionary, 1823, lists it as 'up to snuff and a pinch above it', and defines the term as 'flash'. This clearly shows the derivation to be from 'snuff', the powdered tobacco that had become fashionable to inhale in the late 17th century. The phrase derives from the stimulating effect of taking snuff. The association of the phrase with sharpness of mind was enhanced by the fashionability and high cost of snuff and by the elaborate decorative boxes that it was kept in.
The later meaning of 'up to standard', in the same sense as 'up to scratch' (see also: 'start from scratch') began to be used around the turn of the 20th century.
Copyright © Gary Martin, 1996 - 2008
from carol jean
9:11 PM
Anonymous said...
How come my definition of the up to snuff didn't get on?
I love these, have a site on favorites to look up any saying in the English language.
Ear guy, I know you. You are my ear guy too and I'll hear you again soon.
He or she who has ears to hear, listen. If you can't hear me, go see the ear guy.
He's very cute.
And about the age of my youngest children.
Everybody, if you like calories and cholesterol, come to Christina Lake Lutheran Church's dinner tomorrow night - full cream scallopped potatoes and meat balls (secret recipe) and all the trimmings including home-made pie. Also bake sale.
Carol Jean
5:00 PM
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