Heavens to Betsy!: And Other Curious Sayings

by Charles Earle Funk

He's as mad as a hatter!

Whether it's like a bump on a log or a bat out of hell, these expressions have been around forever, but we've never really known why ... until now! Finally Dr. Funk explains more than 400 droll, colorful, and sometimes pungent expressions of everyday speech. Derived from classical sources, historic events, famous literature, frontier humor, and the frailties of humankind, each of these sayings has an interesting story behind its origin.

If you've ever wondered why when you're in a hurry you are told to hold your horses, wonder no more!

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, History, Reference, Writing, Humor

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Charles Earle Funk (1881–1957) was an American lexicographer.[1][2][3] He was a member of the Funk family who owned the publisher Funk & Wagnalls; Dr. Isaac Funk was his uncle.[4]

Funk wrote several etymological dictionaries, including Thereby Hangs a Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins, A Hog On Ice & Other Curious Expressions, Heavens To Betsy & Other Curious Expressions, Horsefeathers and Other Curious Words, and 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions: From White Elephants to Song & Dance.

Reviews

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recall this being a very fun little compendium.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting, but there were parts of it that I just skimmed because some of the phrases were unfamiliar to me-- out of date? I would be interested in reading a more current book on a similar theme.

Some interesting things I learned from this book:
-"Ham actor" originated from "hamfatter", which was applied to Black minstrels starting around 1875.
-Having someone "by the short hairs" didn't, at least at one time, refer to the pubic hairs, but rather to the beard, or the little hairs on the scruff of the neck.
-There's a cute phrase, "busman's holiday", referring to spending one's vacation doing the same thing one does for a living.
-There's another phrase, "absent treatment", which refers to talking about a person as if s/he isn't there.
-There have been "ambulance chasers" at least since the 1890s.
-The phrase "casting pearls before swine" is a real phrase, not just a comic-strip title, and refers to giving nice things to people who won't appreciate them.
-"Nip and tuck" used to refer not to plastic surgery, but to being neck-and-neck in a race!

[Bailey Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those interesting books that sheds a little light on those little phrases you've always wondered, "How did that ever come to be said?" It's a great coffee table book as anyone can thumb through it and be more enlightened than before they sat down! It's nice to have one of those books around that isn't necessarily meant to be read in any kind of order. Just opening to a page and reading is sufficient!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting origins of familiar sayings.Absorbing read.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting compendium of curious mostly American sayings, along with a brief history of how they came about. A rather fun romp through history via local color.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

From 1955, so some of the phrases are out of date, it is still a fun, and occasionally educational, read.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavens to Betsy was first published in 1955 and is still in print. I think by 1955 most of the "curious sayings" were already falling out of common use and by now this laundry list of sayings seems more like a strange historical document than a current look at popular expressions in day-to-day speech.

Funk's begins the book with an explanation as to why "Heavens to Betsy" inspired the writing of the book. Although he gives no definitive explanation about the history or origin of the saying the process of researching it makes for the only truly interesting read of the entire book.

So many of the "common" expression are ones I've never heard or even seen written outside of this book. Then the ones that Funk asserts are no longer in use are the ones that I personally use on a regular basis or at least hear or see frequently.

[Opal Bellamy]

This book shows its age, and rather poorly. Racist caricatures, racialized slurs, etc are plentiful. I do think the use of other languages' similar proverbs (sadly only French and German in most cases) was a commendable idea, but certainly had more potential for international cross-cultural similarities to be drawn. Owing to its age too, many expressions have been altered some from its writing to the modern day, making it sometimes a tad confusing to navigate. The nod to Scots and the poetry of Burns being left to suffice in its original state was appreciated, I only wish other languages and cultures were afforded the same respect in this text. I did not realize that so many English idioms could be credited to Wycliffe's translation of the Bible, so that was interesting.

[Mindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this would be really interesting, and at first it was. First of all: it rapidly became BORING! This author completely sucked the life and interest out of the subject. In addition, since it was written in 1955, meanings of some of the expressions have actually changed! It felt dated beyond belief.

[Finn Kopp · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is good because it is helpful and fun. I never knew that a charley horse was a reference to a horse that had stiff muscles. This book is slightly outdated. It was made in 1955, so some sayings are not used today. It is organized because it doesn't have chapters or anything to place them in a specific order.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book covers a good number of expressions, but most of them are ones I heard before an already knew what they meant. I was somewhat skeptical about the origins he gave for some of the expressions, but it was a fun read overall.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love finding out where interesting sayings come from, but this book wasn't what I was looking for. Many of the sayings' origins are obvious, and others are so outdated that I had never heard them used.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was interesting, and even funny at times, but could have been more readable. The entries doen't appear to be organized in any way, they don't follow a theme, they're not divided into chapters. I would hate to have to look up an expression in this book.

[Rrshively · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a handy way to occupy those last few minutes when one is dressed and ready to go somewhere or waiting for the computer to warm up. I learned the origins and whys and wherefores of many of our common sayings. It was O.K. with me that I did.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating trip down the history of our language's vocabulary and witticisms.

[Christina]

Weeding my library: linguistics section. In pulling out two-shelves-worth of books on literature and the English language with the goal of removing some to make room for more books, I seem to be only succeeding in reorganizing and making subsections. I started by sorting the books loosely by theme, and found one of the larger stacks are books on the origins of words and phrases. Do I need a dozen of them? Well...technically I don’t need any, but do I want a dozen of them?

Here’s the problem, they cover different words and phrases, and have different styles. I’d say Heavens to Betsy! and it’s companion A Hog on Ice have a more authoritative and well-researched feel compared to David Feldman’s Who Put the Butter in Butterfly?. Funk was editor-in-chief of the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary Series and leans toward a scholarly approach. Feldman’s specialty is popular culture, and he’s more of a commercial author, so he errs on the side of entertainment. For example, both books look at the origin of “get one’s goat”, but Feldman zeroes in on just one possible origin and makes it more of a story. He explains that goats are used as companions for race horses to calm them because a horse of the same sex causes territorial agitation, and a horse of the opposite sex causes agitation of a different kind. But a goat provides calming, agitation-free companionship—unless someone steals one’s goat shortly before the race to upset the horse. Funk mentions this as a possible origin, but is skeptical of it. He mentions efforts to trace it to a both a Greek phrase and a French phrase dating to the 16th century, but he seems to think the American usage later, and notes it’s use in a 1912 Jack London novel, Smoke Bellew, though he doesn’t say that is definitively the origin, only that it refutes the race horse origin. So his style is an academic approach, where the answer is sometimes inconclusive. Maybe this, could be that but I doubt it because there’s this other possibility. Some of the phrases do have a definitive origin, but Funk Seems careful about accuracy. That said, Feldman is a bit more entertaining. I feel like Funk’s is a reference book, while Feldman’s is more of a read and pass along book.

Funk also only focuses on phrases, while my other books on the origins of phrases also include the origins of words. (And yes, I have several books exclusively on the origin of words with no phrases.) For reference, the others phrase origin books besides Feldman’s are Marvelous Monikers by Tad Tuleja which is about words and phrases derived from people, and Why You Say It by Webb Garrison. All include an index, though Funk’s index seems more robust. It is most notable that all three of the other books cite Funk’s books as sources. Funk’s books seem based on original research, rather than compiling from other books about word and phrase origins. In this book, he begins each with a clear, dictionary-style definition, while the others have a more casual, narrative approach to the definition. So if I could only keep one author’s work, I would choose Funk’s books. In fact, he has a third book I don’t have and will probably add. I am really terrible at this library weeding exercise. But I do think the other books are worthwhile as they can sometimes provide greater context.

Verdict: keep.

[Prakash Yadav · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books takes etymology one step up by investigating the origin phrases we take for granted. Painstakingly researched over 500 years of literature and history. Funk is really fond of referring to his other book 'A Hog on Ice' which only makes the reader to want to read that too. Clever. Funk's passion for seeking the origins of the Stoughton bottle is inspiring.

[Sheri Hathaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good resource for the writer. Lots of research went into this one. In going through it, I made a list of the sayings my father used in preparation for writing a memoir of my parents' lives.