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Just not there! Off the Wall Nov 9, 2006
I imagine by now the collegians are now beginning to feel the pressure and are buckling now and really working their tails off. On the other hand, being that human beings never had tails to begin with, it is hard to work something off one never had to begin with. I can hear those who believe in evolution crying out, "Not so fast Pee Vee. We came from apes and they had tails." Sorry folks, but I do not follow that theory and stick by the philosophy of creationism. In any case, I wonder how that expression ever came to be. I tried to find a website on my computer that could give me an explanation, but all that I found referred to people working very hard to accomplish a goal. When I was in high school, I remember dancing to a song called "Shake a Tail Feather." The name of the singer escapes me at the present time. Have you ever seen tails with feathers on them other than birds? Since humans don't have tails, there would be no way on earth we could ever dance displaying our plumage while doing robotic twists with our tails swinging to and fro. I guess the same idea applies when someone says, "I worked my butt off to get that paper written." At least we know everyone has one of those. I hate to think what would happen if we worked so hard it would fall off. Heavens to Betsy! When it comes right down to it, we use some really strange expressions as part of American heritage. I don't even call it English, because that would mean the so-called sayings come from England (which they could have, I guess). We seem to use the word "butt" in our descriptions. It's not always referring to our posterior or as some may refer them our back end, but other usages as well. Carpenters who may be laying flooring will butt two pieces of wood together before gluing them in place. I could understand if the back ends of each piece would be stuck together. Then the usage would make sense. But when these professionals butt the two pieces of wood together, they are doing so usually side by side. A fellow Latrobean was telling me recently that he was disgusted that at a certain locale near a park bench in the downtown area of our fair city there were cigarette butts all over the place. I told him wherever there were seats, you were bound to find butts (of course, it was a little play on words, so to speak). In my opinion, if a cigarette can have a butt, then most anything else that is a thing can have one, too. That could include boots, pens, staplers, hammers, you name it. If two sided objects have a front and a back with some kind of middle to it, I can only presuppose that that the back end has to be labeled a butt, plain and simple. I can't tell you how many times I have heard usually women yelling at their husbands, "When are you going to get off your butt and do something around the house?" That is one command I understand even though the Mrs. never quite put it that way. It's sad when spouses neglect to do responsibilities that obviously need to be done (but that is a whole 'nother column). Animals will butt heads or horns when they get rammy (or moosey, elky or deery). The larger or thicker end of anything is called a butt, according to my dictionary. It is also a thick part of a tanned hide of leather or a large end of the loin in beef. It's sure become clear to me that the Funk & Wagnall reference book has broadened my understanding as to the many definitions and usages of one four-letter word. But even though now we have some inkling how some expressions may have started, there is still one that somehow doesn't fit into any explanation given above. Have you ever entered into a disagreement or tried to break up a fight whereby someone lashed out at you screaming at the top of his lungs, "Butt off, would ya?" In a sense, I guess that verbiage is still better than some expletives spoken!
Paul J. volkmann 9/12/06 |
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