Mickey Starling
reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com
We’ve spent several joyful moments exploring phrases from the 1800s that are still in occasional use, so let’s explore a bit further back. Looking into the Middle Ages, we find plenty of fodder for some great idioms. Have you ever had a great idea that soon ran into complications, causing you to consider abandoning the thought altogether? You may have been told to not “throw the baby away with the bath water.”
This particular phrase becomes more disgusting with each thought, but let’s dive in. Bathing is hopefully very common these days, but in the Middles Ages, it was more like a holiday. The father of the family had the first dive in to a tub of hot water, followed by his wife and kids in the order of oldest to youngest. This meant that the newborns were in for a mudfest of toxic delight when they reached their turn. Thus, the bath water was beyond ready to be thrown out. The phrase was quite literal in those olden days. Today, it refers to having something valuable in the midst of trouble or adversity that is worth saving. Every new invention begins as a “baby in the bath water,” complete with many obstacles to overcome before the finished product is functional.
As a student, there were occasions when I may not have totally completed my assignments or even started them. If I managed to get through class without having to demonstrate my ignorance or lack of preparation, I would say that I was “saved by the bell.” However, actual salvation was meant by the term back in the day. During the Middle Ages, death was rather fashionable, occurring so often that graves had to be re-used. A gruesome discovery of scratch marks inside of some coffins indicated that some folks passed before their time. To remedy this misfortune, thoughtful morticians everywhere began leaving a string in caskets that was tied to a bell above ground. Should a poor bloke awake to find themselves six feet under, they could ring the bell vigorously until someone heard it and rescued them. Fortunately, someone was assigned the task of remaining at the graveside for several days. These individuals were definitely saved by the bell.
Those more argumentative among us are familiar with the phrase, “playing the devil’s advocate.” This means to argue against a person or purpose, bringing to light contradictory evidence to make one’s point. Many a lawyer has heard this term probably more than they care to remember. The phrase originated in the sixteenth century, when Pope Leo created the position of Promoter of the Faith. Their assignment was to argue against the canonization of a saint by digging us as much dirt as possible to prove the saint was not worthy of such an honor. The Promoter of the Faith was officially dubbed “advocatus diaboli.” I threw that in just so you would know I did my homework this time. No need to be saved by the bell.