Chock-a-Block:
See Block
Choke: To choke someone off; today this means to discourage someone or
to dampen their enthusiasm for a proposal. The original discouragement
was to a fighting dog. It was gripped by the throat and choked in order
to make it release its hold on its adversary.
Chop: To chop and change, meaning to constantly alter things. Change is
understandable but why Chop? In 1811 the expression was in use and chop
was slang for "making dispatch, or hurrying over any business", hence
our modern saying "Chop, chop" when urging someone to hurry. This comes
from Chinese dialect, 19C, 'kap kap' meaning to 'hurry'.
The 'chop' in the 'chop & change' expression goes back to old
English 'ceapian', to 'barter'.
Clap: To clap ones eyes on. This is another for which I can't find an
explanation. However, the SOED says. "Clap" in this sense just means
"to place or put roughly" (cf. "Clap him in irons!"), and thus it's
just a more abrupt and forceful way of saying "set eyes on" or "lay
eyes on"
Clapped: Clapped out. If someone is clapped out they are exhausted.
Hares are the origin here. When pursued by hounds or other adversaries
they will stop from time to time to catch their breath. They routinely
sit up on their haunches and look around; their respiratory movements
are so strong that their chests heave in and out and their front legs
move in time with the breathing. To the observer they appear to be
clapping and, in the world of hare hunting, this is exactly what it's
called. Alternatively, it may be related to the ‘clap', slang for
sexually transmitted disease.
Clappers.
to 'Go like the clappers' means that an activity, such as a machine, or
someone talking, is going very fast. The origin here is obscure, but an
entry in "A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English", Volume II:
The Supplement (1970)says:
'Gerald Emanuel, letter of March 29, 1945: C. 20; since ca. 1925, much
used by the R.A.F. As "clapper" suggests "bell", so "hell" rhymes on
"bell": and "go like hell" is to run very hard indeed.'
Several other suggestions also involve bells. In truth, no one knows
for sure.
Clink: To be put in clink means to be sent to prison. The "clink" here
is not the rattle of chains but, rather, the name of a specific London
prison which, in turn, took its name from the Borough in which it was
sited. This was The Liberty of Clink, a district of Southwark exempt
from the jurisdiction of the City of London.
Cloud nine: The expression ‘up on cloud nine’ to describe a
feeling of euphoric exaltation is based on actual terminology. The
first effort at properly classifying clouds was at the beginning of the
19th century by Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, who classified them in simple
terms along Linnaean lines. Then a Quaker businessman, Luke Howard
(1772-1864), classified clouds into types such as stratus, cumulus and
cirrus. Howard was a near contemporary of John Constable. Howard gave
several lectures on his system and it is likely that Constable, who was
renowned for his landscapes, attended some. Howard's system was
expanded and developed into the International Cloud Atlas.
An abridged version of the atlas came out in 1896 and classified ten
types of cloud. Number 9 was the white, fluffy, comfy-looking towering
cumulo-nimbus. Hence to be "on cloud nine" came to symbolise floating
free on a downy, white cushion, presumably without a care in the world.
Thanks to Robert Steele, Doune, Perthshire for much of this.
Incidentally, the 2nd edition of the Atlas reclassified cumulonimbus to
number 10; however, the 'cloud nine' phrase
remained,
perhaps popularised by the 1950s popular radio show 'Johnny Dollar'
who, when knocked out, was always transported to 'cloud nine'.
Coals: to haul someone over the coals is to severely reprimand them.
This derives from the testing of suspected heretics in the Middle Ages.
They were literally hauled over a bed of burning coals. If they
survived they were considered innocent, and guilty if they did not.
Cobblers: What a load of cobblers; implies that something is rubbish or
nonsense. The origin is in rhyming slang for "cobbler's awl". An awl is
a pointed tool for making holes in things; it is an essential part of a
shoemaker's (cobbler's) kit. The rhyming linked "cobbler"s awls" with
"balls", ie slang for testicles. "Cobblers" then came to be used in the
same way as "balls". "A load of old cobblers" is an extension of the
saying.
Cockles: To warm the cockles of your heart implies a feeling of
pleasure and affection. The cockles here are said to come from the
belief that 17th century anatomists likened the shape of the ventricles
of the heart to that of the marine mollusc of the same name and, of
course, the heart has always been regarded as the seat of love and
affection.
Cock up: To cock up something indicates that there has been a bungle or
mess up but not a disaster in a project. The source here is obscure.
The saying has sexual overtones but would hardly be used in the way
that it is if this were so. It is said that "cock up" is an innocent
expression meaning "error" used by printers and others, including
poachers. This latter group could well be the true origin since it is
claimed that, if you startle a pheasant that you're stalking, then it
will squawk and the noise sounds like "cock up".
A second possibility suggests an origin based on "cocking" a flintlock
pistol. If not cocked up there was likely to be a disaster when the
trigger was pulled. To be cock sure comes from this source but
otherwise I'm not impressed.
A third suggestion comes from archery. The arrows of traditional
English long bows had three feathers. One of these, named the "cock"
feather, had to be positioned away from the line of the bow string,
otherwise it would hit the string and affect the flight of the arrow to
produce a "cock up".
In December 2002 Terry Instone offered the following:
"..............May I contribute a fourth possibility for cock-up (which
I heard many years ago)? When a fermented barrel of wine is ready to be
run-off for bottling, a stop-cock is driven into the barrel and a
sample is tasted to check for quality. If the wine has turned sour, the
cock is twisted upside down showing that the barrel is not to be used -
hence.... "
In October 2003 Nick Baker wrote from Sweden: ".......... Cock-Up... I
agree with half of one of your explanations, but my grandad used to
tell of a reason that makes more sense to me... in the ranks of
soldiers practicing manoeuvres with their flint-lock (or
percussion-cap) rifles, it was not unusual to hear a rifle discharge
when it shouldn't have done. Some rifles lacked the trigger guard that
is now mandatory, and trigger mechanisms in general were not to be
trusted.
Subsequently, when the rifles where slammed and jerked from position to
position, any recruit who had eagerly cocked their rifle in error,
would be likely to inadvertently fire the rifle. The remark would be
"well, that was a cock up"... the mistake becoming known as a
'cock-up', and giving name to many other accidental happenings.
Incidentally... as someone who used to compete with fire-arms (I've
also competed with flint-locks in Sweden), allow me to add... If the
weapon is not cocked and you pull the trigger, there is no disaster at
all...(as suggested in the text)... you merely pull the trigger, and
nothing happens... (this counts for ALL weapons modern or old that have
the ability to be 'cocked').
In June 2004 another explanation was offered, by Steve Dowling from
Liverpool University:
"Cock-up is a well-known nautical expression and I have performed one
myself on the Malcolm Miller sail training ship. The Cock is the upper
foremost corner of a gaff sail rigged sail. The Head is the upper edge
and the peak the upper after corner. When fully raised the peak is
higher than the cock. When raising the gaff, 2 gangs will operate the
halyards both on the
cock end and peak end of the gaff. It is most important that they raise
the gaff horizontal, otherwise this large piece of timber will slew
sideways into the mast (it has a metal ring round the mast to stop it
coming away completely) and jams fast and then becomes impossible to
either raise or lower. This is most acute if the cock is above the peak
hence a 'cock-up'. It is quite easily done if the 2 gangs are not
paying attention to each other."
