Gab:
The gift of the gab is given to those who talk a lot. The primitive
Celtic word for mouth was Gab, but the expression is more likely based
on the Middle English Gabbe meaning "idle talk". Gab however remains in
modern use as the basis of Goblet and the slang Gob for mouth. Gab, for
mouth, was known in 1811.
Gaff: To blow the gaff means to reveal a secret: gaff here is reckoned
to be a variant of the Gab described above and has nothing to do with
the use of the word to describe a spar on a sailing ship, nor does it
relate to the pole of the same name, which is based on the Portuguese
gafe meaning "boat-hook".
Gammy: To have a gammy leg implies a deformed or lame leg. It comes
from the Celtic cam or kam meaning "crooked". Surprisingly, the use is
said to be relatively modern in spite of the age of its origin.
Gamut: To run the gamut of, say, emotion means to go through the entire
spectrum of emotional possibilities. Gamut is the first word of a
medieval Italian mnemonic used to help remember the musical scale.
Gamma was the first note followed by ut, re, mi, fa, so, la and si.
Gamma and ut became combined to describe the whole range.
Gauntlet: When someone runs the gauntlet they are exposed to risk.
Gauntlet here has nothing at all to do with leather gloves but rather
with Sweden. An old military punishment in that country was to send the
victim, stripped to the waist, through a double line of men, each armed
with a stick with which to beat him as he passed. Its first English
form was gantlope from the Swedish gata, "passage or lane" and lope or
lopp, "a leap or chase", but the word changed a little over the
centuries into gauntlet. The punishment itself came into use in the
Royal Navy in 1661 but was abolished in 1813.
George: By George is an expression used as an oath or to express
surprise. It could be the modern version of the old battle cry of
English soldiers, most well known in Shakespeare's Henry V where the
King shouts: "for Harry, England and St George!" However, it's far more
likely that this is just a 'minced oath', where a variety of words are
used instead of 'God'; in this instance it happens to be 'George'.
Gerrymander: This is a splendid word with a very specific use; it means
the manipulation of electoral boundaries for party political ends. As
such, since it isn't a phrase, it really has no place in this book;
however the word is so intriguing that I put it in. It goes back to the
USA in the very early 1800s when the Governor for Massachusetts, one
Elbridge Gerry, redrew his local electoral boundaries to help him
maintain control of his party. The new shape of one district in Essex
County, with a little invention by Gilbert Stuart, an artist, came to
look like a salamander; as a result, the manipulation was named a
Gerrymander. However, the practice was not new.
Gibberish: To talk gibberish means to speak unintelligibly or in a
meaningless way. There are a couple of possible origins here. One says
that the basis is in the old word gibber which is allied to jabber. The
problem with this one is that gibberish was in use before the word
gibber, therefore making things definitely dubious.
A better explanation says the word comes from Geber, the name of an
Arabian alchemist in the 11th century. He invented a strange
terminology so that his works could not be understood by others; more
importantly, he could not be accused of heresy, which was punishable by
death. Gibberish in its modern sense was certainly known in 1811.
Gingerbread: To take the gilt off the gingerbread means to show
something up as worth far less than first thought. Gingerbread is a
cake mixed with treacle and flavoured with ginger. It was coated with a
golden leaf and, as such, was often sold at country fairs up to the
middle of the 19th century. I guess that sometimes the cake was less
than perfect; when the gilt was removed, all was revealed.
Gingerly: To do something gingerly is to do it with caution. The word
here has nothing to do with the vegetable "ginger" but probably has an
origin in the Old French word 'genzor', the comparative form of 'gent,'
meaning 'delicate.' There are other theories, including one that it
comes from the Icelandic by way of Swedish but no one accepts the
vegetable origin.
Gist: To get the gist of something is to understand its basics, its
fundamentals. This comes from the old French Gsir meaning to lie,
itself having the meaning of something lying within something and being
its basis.
Goat: To get someone's goat means to irritate or annoy them. This may
refer to an alleged old English (Welsh?) belief that keeping a goat in
the barn would have a calming effect on the cows, hence the production
of more milk. To antagonise your enemy, you would steal their goat,
thereby supposedly making their cows give less milk.
An alternative comes from early 20th century USA where it was the
practice to keep a goat as a stable companion for a highly strung race
horse in the expectation that the goat would be a calming influence. If
the goat were stolen then there was a chance that the horse, being
upset, would not run well in the next race. However, there seems little
documentary evidence to suggest that keeping a goat for this purpose
was widespread.
Another likely origin of the phrase comes from 1904 where, in the
Random House dictionary, "goat" is prison slang for "anger." This may
be the key. After all, with much provocation, goats do get angry. To
bring out the "goat" in someone may take some doing, but will
eventually have dramatic results.
Goose: To cook someone's goose means to put them at a disadvantage; to
thwart their efforts to achieve a goal. This seem a really odd way of
describing things. The saying is recorded in an 1851 London street
ballard, but its origin is obscure. Suggestions range from Eric, King
of Sweden, coming to a certain town with very few soldiers, the enemy,
in mockery, hung out a goose for him to shoot at. Finding, however,
that the king meant business, and that it would be no laughing matter
for them, they sent heralds to ask him what he wanted. “To cook your
goose for you,” he facetiously replied. However, there's no documentary
evidence to theory. Another suggestion comes from the 'The Goose that
laid the Golden Egg' where the greed of the peasants caused the goose
to be killed. In truth, no one knows for sure.
