49 - A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom

[Alix]

I'm having a really hard time with this one. I'm not into "older" books where a lot of phrases came from.. I noticed some people said Harry Potter... I plan to reread the series this year, I'm just not sure what phrase from it would qualify?
Any other recommendations for a more modern novel?

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Alix wrote: "I'm having a really hard time with this one. I'm not into "older" books where a lot of phrases came from.. I noticed some people said Harry Potter... I plan to reread the series this year, I'm just..."

I think 'muggles' would count, if you stretch it to individual words, or maybe 'don't let the muggles get you down'. Possibly 'letter from Hogwarts' (As in 'why haven't I gotten my letter from Hogwarts yet?'). I do think a lot of the phrases people suggested from the series don't quite count as commonly used, though...

[Nadine in NY]

Alix wrote: "I'm having a really hard time with this one. I'm not into "older" books where a lot of phrases came from.. I noticed some people said Harry Potter... I plan to reread the series this year, I'm just..."

Because the book is still fairly recent, these phrases havent' really been imbedded in the language the way something like "the lady doth protest too much" has been, but there are a few I think.

* He Who Must Not Be Named
* "mischief managed"
* "or worse ... expelled"
* "I solemnly swear I am up to no good"
* having "the emotional range of a teaspoon"
* patronus
* dementor
* horcrux
* "expelliarmus!" and "petrificus totalus" (ok maybe that's just in my house!! LOL)

[Tracy]

Nadine wrote: " * "expelliarmus!" and "petrificus totalus" (ok maybe that's just in my house!! LOL) "


Haha Nadine.. In our house it was Lumos/Nox.

( And for me personally, "He who must not be named")

I think patronus would definitely count....I feel like its the new term for "spirit animal".

[Alix]

Nadine wrote: "Alix wrote: "I'm having a really hard time with this one. I'm not into "older" books where a lot of phrases came from.. I noticed some people said Harry Potter... I plan to reread the series this y..."

Thank you ladies!
I still have 3,5,6 left I can add to my list- I know #3 has dementors- remind me, the pantronus is in prizoner of azkaban (3) right?
and now that I think of it the map is in this one too- that's where " I solemnly swear Im up to no good" comes in.
please correct me if Im wrong- I haven't read the entire series in about 10 years!

[Jackie]

#3 is the one that introduces dementors, as well as the marauder's map. I think #5 is the first time we hear about horcruxes, but that might not come along until #6...

[Brandy]

I ended up reading As You Like it in my quest to read some Shakespearean comedy. Eh. It was fine. /ringing endorsement.

[Lorry]

How about all the variations of "all the things" (I want all the things, clean all the things, eat all the things, etc.) from Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half?"

[Emily]

Jackie wrote: "#3 is the one that introduces dementors, as well as the marauder's map. I think #5 is the first time we hear about horcruxes, but that might not come along until #6..."

Horcruxes aren't mentioned until 6-HBP. I re-read the series last year for the 2018 challenge...and to verify, I have the Pottermore ebook of the whole collection, so I ran a quick ctrl+f search and book 6 was the first instance it found :)

[Sarah]

Would Eat Pray Love count as a common phrase? I've heard it used to describe a journey of self-discovery or a period of soul searching.

[☕️Hélène⚜️]

Yes! I think it does count! If you think it does then it does. It does to me

[Jenny]

Wondering if I can use Year of Yes for this? I feel like Shonda Rhimes' show Scandal first started using "stand in the sun" but it's also the subtitle to her book... But I also think "stand in the sun" is a reference to W.E.B. Du Bois, so I'm not sure if it even counts (although the Du Bois quote is slightly different).

I'm already going to be reading Catch-22 this year for a different book club, which definitely does fit this prompt, so I'm not sure why I'm overthinking this one. :)

[Brian]

I'm reading "The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton"-Edited by William Kerrigan, John Rumrish and Stephen M. Fallon. We get "Heaven on Earth", "All Hell Broke Loose", "Better to Reign in Hell Than Rule in Heaven", etc. from "Paradise Lost" alone.

This book is a beast.

[Simone]

I'm using Sad Cypress for this prompt. Poirot uses the term "little grey cells" a lot, but I love the quote from this novel: "It is the brain, the little gray cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within--not without"

[Marie-Eve]

I dont know if this would fit, cause i dont know if everyone would consider this a "common phrase or idiom"

But The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy does give us the Answer to Life and the Universe and Everything Else...

I mean i just read this book in the past weeks, but as a big geek, ive known this for a while, and many times, when asking the meaning of life, friends would answer 42 in reference to this. Anyways, I might just use it... thought maybe others who still hadnt read it could find it useful!

[Johanne]

42 as an answer to the mening of life, the universe and everything is a phrase I use frequently :) Also 'So long and thanks for all the fish'.

[Marie-Eve]

Johanne wrote: "42 as an answer to the mening of life, the universe and everything is a phrase I use frequently :) Also 'So long and thanks for all the fish'."

Glad someone else can confirm they also use it. LOL

[Danii]

Oh god, I definitely want to read something contemporary for this category, and I love a lot of the contemporary suggestions but I am trying to fill all my challenges with queer/LGBTQ+ books this year. Does anyone have any suggestions for that? (No, I don't count Harry Potter as queer because the gay character is only retroactively gay and that's not good enough.)

[Nicole]

Marie-eve wrote: "I dont know if this would fit, cause i dont know if everyone would consider this a "common phrase or idiom"

But The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy does give us the Answer to Life ..."

How could I not think about that!!
I use 42 and 'So long and thanks for all the fish' frequently too.

[Kelly]

Do you think "Nurse Ratched" from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest would count for this?

[Јована]

would The Merchant of Venice from William Shakespeare work?
it inspired the phrase: All that glitters is not gold

[Margaret]

El wrote: "I'm going to read Hamlet for this prompt - "To be, or not to be", "brevity is the soul of wit""

And sweets for the sweet!

[Margaret]

Nadine wrote: "I've quickly gone from "how much FUN" to "I am SO cranky" hahahahah I can't find anything good for this one. I think I'm just going to read Twelfth Night."

How about MacBeth? Knock, knock. Who's There?

[Margaret]

Јована wrote: "would The Merchant of Venice from William Shakespeare work?
it inspired the phrase: All that glitters is not gold"

Absolutely. Also the idiom about someone wanting "their pound of flesh"

[Margaret]

Danii wrote: "Oh god, I definitely want to read something contemporary for this category, and I love a lot of the contemporary suggestions but I am trying to fill all my challenges with queer/LGBTQ+ books this y..."

It may not fit your contemporary or LGBTQ+ criteria, but have your considered The Picture of Dorian Gray? Lots of people use the phrase "he must have a picture in his attic" to refer to someone who never seems to look older.

It was published in 1890 and was highly edited. But it was still decried for its "homosexual allusions" and decadence, and there has been a lot of analysis written on the topic. And in the 19th century Oscar Wilde was probably more famous for being openly gay than for his work.

[Amanda]

I totally don't understand this prompt... Would What Burns Away work for this...? I picked it up on vacation and it was start reading it or listen to this little kid scream/cry on the train..

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Amanda wrote: "I totally don't understand this prompt... Would What Burns Away work for this...? I picked it up on vacation and it was start reading it or listen to this little kid scream/cry on t..."

I'm not familiar with the book--what phrase were you thinking the book might have inspired?

[Amanda]

Raquel wrote: "Amanda wrote: "I totally don't understand this prompt... Would What Burns Away work for this...? I picked it up on vacation and it was start reading it or listen to this little kid ..."

I fit it in somewhere else... I had misread the prompt thingy bop.. I think I understand it now though

[Henna]

I think I'm going to read Sherlock Holmes for this!

[Lynette]

I'm reading Gaslight


You need the one by Patrick Hamilton for this. It's a play, so a quick read.

[Cyndy]

I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. As almost always, the book is better than the movie. And the movie is timeless. "There is no place like home." - Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz Series Book 1) (p. 17). Kindle Edition.

[Erica]

I think I'm going to read The Martian by Andy Weir for this prompt. "Nothing Tea" is a term I use frequently.

[Milena]

I haven't seen The Prince mentioned. If Kafkaesque and Lovecraftian count, surely Macchiavellian does also? What do you all think? I am really trying to get out of reading Catch-22 this year.

[L Y N N]

Cyndy wrote: "I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. As almost always, the book is better than the movie. And the movie is timeless. "There is no place like home." - Baum, L. Frank (Ly..."

Oh, my! I read this and forgot all about it satisfying this prompt! Interestingly, I did not prefer the book. In fact, I felt they did a great job in spicing up the movie to improve it! I thought the melting of the witch in the book was very anticlimactic compared to the movie. I also felt the language was rather stilted, but that didn't surprise me given that it was published in 1900! :)

[Karissa]

I am reading Shakespeare's The Tempest. "We are such stuff as dreams are made on." At less than a hundred pages long, it's a quick enjoyable read taking place on a magical island. I would definitely recommend.

[Stina]

What's from Othello? It's one of the SYNC free downloads this week, so I'm thinking of going with that.

A friend has also lent me her copy of The Outsiders (Hinton), and I think I saw it mentioned here. What is from that?

[Josie]

Stina wrote: "What's from Othello? It's one of the SYNC free downloads this week, so I'm thinking of going with that..."

"Green-eyed monster" referring to jealousy was first used in Othello.

[Nadine in NY]

Stina wrote: "What's from Othello? It's one of the SYNC free downloads this week, so I'm thinking of going with that.

A friend has also lent me her copy of The Outsiders (Hinton), and I think I saw it mentione..."

1. I think anything from Shakespeare works here, every one of his plays has at least one phrase or idiom that's been picked up in common parlance.

2. "Stay gold, Ponyboy." (it's up to you to decide if that counts!)

[Haley]

I think that The Scarlet Letter would be great for this, since a "scarlet letter" now can mean any sort of marked stigma.

[Theresa]

The expression "if you build it, they will come" did NOT originate in the movie, Field of Dreams, but in the book upon which it was based! Shoeless Joe.

How do I know that? It's mentioned in the book I am reading The Library at the Edge of the World -- the heroine, a librarian in a village in Ireland, mentions in as part of a dinner conversation.

[Stina]

Thanks, Nadine and Josie! The phrase from The Outsiders means nothing to me, so I think I'll go with Othello for this prompt.

[Drakeryn]

Milena wrote: "I haven't seen The Prince mentioned. If Kafkaesque and Lovecraftian count, surely Macchiavellian does also? What do you all think? I am really trying to get out of reading Catch-22 thi..."

I would definitely count Machiavellian. (Catch-22 is actually my planned book for this prompt! Though The Prince is a good pick too, hmm...)

[Milena]

Drakeryn wrote: "Milena wrote: "I haven't seen The Prince mentioned. If Kafkaesque and Lovecraftian count, surely Macchiavellian does also? What do you all think? I am really trying to get out of readi..."

I do want to read Catch-22 eventually, The Prince is just shorter.

[Umairah (Sereadipity)]

I think I'm reading A Christmas Carol for this one. Bah Humbug! counts, doesn't it?

[Jennifer W]

Lorry wrote: "How about all the variations of "all the things" (I want all the things, clean all the things, eat all the things, etc.) from Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half?""


*I* use "all the things" on a fairly regular basis....
(I also work in mental health, so I reference the dead fish, too)

[Jennifer W]

Though it might be a long shot, I was thinking of using Uncle Tom's Cabin, but I'm not sure if I will be able to finish it as it's a long book and my reading time is short these days. I've also always wanted to read Catch-22.

Seems like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or something else by Mark Twain could work, too, but I can't think of a specific phrase right off the top of my head.

[Jennifer W]

Theresa wrote: "The expression "if you build it, they will come" did NOT originate in the movie, Field of Dreams, but in the book upon which it was based! Shoeless Joe.

How do I know that? It's menti..."

Nonfiction about sports might have a lot of possibilities. I'm a baseball fan and Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game has become its own phrase. A team or coach etc who plays "Moneyball" is only looking at the statistics and the numbers and not the "heart" or "chemistry" of at team.

[Merilee]

I used the play "Gas Light" for this, since even though the movie is over 70 years old we still use the phrase. Good play, though the movie with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman was better.

[Jen K]

Is anyone else currently reading Catch 22? I only made it half way on my first library borrow. It is definitely more about the writing than the plot, very clever writing but it also makes my brain hurt a bit and quite misogynistic which is off putting.

[Milena]

Josie wrote: "Stina wrote: "What's from Othello? It's one of the SYNC free downloads this week, so I'm thinking of going with that..."

"Green-eyed monster" referring to jealousy was first used in Othello."

I am listening to it now (I also got it free from Audiosync) and I also heard "making the beast with two backs." But I have no idea if this is the origin of the phrase.