The other day at a pizza restaurant our waiter, who said his name was "Awesome" and who kept feeding us trivia questions hit on a wrong answer I had heard before. He told us the expression "dead ringer" came from a period when premature burials were creeping everyone out so they started putting bells on caskets. I knew that could not be right if only because the expression "dead ringer" means a perfect imitation. How would that follow from tinntinnabulating coffins?
It doesn't. The actual origin of the term comes from another meaning of both "ringer" and "dead".
You will be familiar with the term "ringer" meaning someone who steps in to take another person's place, the implication always being that the replacement is a much better performer than the original. Sometimes a ball team puts in a ringer to throw off the strategy and expectations of the opposite team. This comes from horse racing originally. A "ringer" was a horse that looked just like one with a poor record of performance and therefore higher odds against winning. The "ringer" will be mistaken for the less able nag, so when it wins, being a better racer, the trickster will win big.
"Dead" also means more than just deceased. It also means precise or exact. Like "She hit it dead on."
So a "dead ringer" is someone or something that is absolutely identical to something else. You say "The actor who played him was a dead ringer for Thomas Cranmer."
In general, if an expression's claimed origin does not reflect it's current meaning in some way, it's wrong.
What do the dates in dictionaries with etymology, or word origins, mean?
Many people mistakenly assume that the dates associated with word origin refer to first use of the word. They merely indicate the oldest known record of the word's use, in a document, for instance. The word itself is older, sometimes considerably older. Chances are that any word evolved from another already in use and with the same or a similar meaning. People who say, "They did not have that word in 1150" or the like are probably misunderstanding what the dates mean. The etymology is useful to gauge likely origin. The following are terms associated with the Middle Ages with standard definitions followed by etymolohy supplied by http://www.etymonline.com/ .
leman A sweetheart or lover archaic for "sweetheart, paramour," from M.E. leofman (c.1200), from O.E. leof "dear" + man "human being, person." Originally of either gender, though archaic usage tends to limit it to women.
merlon A solid portion between two crenels in a battlement or crenelated wall. "solid part of a battlement," 1704, from Fr. merlon, from It. merlone, aug. of merlo "battlement," perhaps a contraction of mergola, dim. of L. mergae "two-pronged pitchfork."
wicket A small door or gate, especially one built into or near a larger one. early 13c., "small door or gate," from Anglo-Fr. wiket, from O.N.Fr. wiket (Fr. guichet) "wicket, wicket gate," probably from P.Gmc. *wik- (cf. O.N. vik "nook") related to O.E. wican "to give way, yield" (see weak). The notion is of "something that turns." Cricket sense of "set of three sticks defended by the batsman" is recorded from 1733.
bard One of an ancient Celtic order of minstrel poets who composed and recited verses celebrating the legendary exploits of chieftains and heroes. mid-15c., from Scottish, from O.Celt. bardos "poet, singer," from PIE base *gwer- "to lift up the voice, praise." In historical times, a term of contempt among the Scots (who considered them itinerant troublemakers), but one of great respect among the Welsh. "All vagabundis, fulis, bardis, scudlaris, and siclike idill pepill, sall be brint on the cheek." [local Scottish ordinance, c.1500] Subsequently idealized by Scott in the more ancient sense of "lyric poet, singer." Poetic use of the word in English is from Gk. bardos, L. bardus, both from Gaulish. Bardolatry "worship of Shakespeare (the 'Bard of Avon')" first recorded 1901.
tabard A tunic or capelike garment worn by a knight over his armor and emblazoned with his coat of arms. mid-13c., from early Sp. tabardo and O.Fr. tabart (12c.), of unknown origin. Originally a coarse, sleeveless upper garment worn by peasants, later a knight's surcoat (hence the name of the tavern in "Canterbury Tales").
pavan A slow, stately court dance of the 16th and 17th centuries, usually in duple meter. "slow, stately dance," 1535, from Fr. pavane (1524), probably from Sp. pavana, from pavo "peacock" (from L. pavo), in ref. to the bird's courting movements. But some see an It. origin and trace the name to Padovana "Paduan." Possibly there was a merger of two distinct dance words.
mace A heavy medieval war club with a spiked or flanged metal head, used to crush armor. "heavy metal weapon with a spiked head," c.1300, from O.Fr. mace "a club, scepter," from V.L. *mattea (cf. It. mazza, Sp. maza "mace"), from L. mateola "a kind of mallet." The L. word probably is cognate with Skt. matyam "harrow, club," O.C.S. motyka "mattock," O.H.G. medela "plow."
seneschal An official in a medieval noble household in charge of domestic arrangements and the administration of servants; a steward or major-domo. 1393, from O.Fr. seneschal, from Frankish Latin siniscalcus, from P.Gmc. *sini-skalk "senior servant;" first element cognate with L. senex "old" (see senile); second element deom P.Gmc. *skalkoz "servant" (cf. Goth. skalks, O.H.G. scalc, O.E. scealc; see marshal).
joust A combat between two mounted knights or men-at-arms using lances; a tilting match. c.1300, from O.Fr. joster "to joust, tilt," from V.L. juxtare "to approach, come together, meet," originally "be next to," from L. juxta "beside, near," related to jungere "join" (see jugular). The sport was popular with Anglo-Norman knights. "These early tournaments were very rough affairs, in every sense, quite unlike the chivalrous contests of later days; the rival parties fought in groups, and it was considered not only fair but commendable to hold off until you saw some of your adversaries getting tired and then to join in the attack on them; the object was not to break a lance in the most approved style, but frankly to disable as many opponents as possible for the sake of obtaining their horses, arms, and ransoms." [L.F. Salzman, "English Life in the Middle Ages," Oxford, 1950]
liege A lord or sovereign to whom allegiance and service are due according to feudal law. word used by a vassal to address his superior or lord in the feudal system, c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. lige (1292), from O.Fr. liege, perhaps from L.L. laeticus "cultivated by serfs," from laetus "serf," which probably is from a Gmc. source (cf. O.E. læt "half-freedman, serf;" O.H.G. laz, O.Fris. lethar "freedman"). Or the M.E. word may be directly from O.H.G. leidig "free." Hence, liege-man "a vassal sworn to the service and support of a lord, who in turn is obliged to protect him" (c.1350).
Crusade Any of the military expeditions undertaken by European Christians in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. 1706, respelling of croisade (1577), from M.Fr. croisade, Sp. cruzada, both from M.L. cruciata, pp. of cruciare "to mark with a cross," from L. crux (gen. crucis) "cross." Figurative sense of "campaign against a public evil" is from 1786.
dungeon A dark, often underground chamber or cell used to confine prisoners. c.1300, from O.Fr. donjon "great tower of a castle," from Gallo-Romance *dominionem, from L.L. dominium, from L. dominus "master" (of the castle; see domain). Sense of "castle keep" led to "strong (underground) cell" in Eng. pre-1338.
hauberk A long tunic made of chain mail. c.1300, from O.Fr. hauberc, earlier holberc, from Frank. *halsberg, lit. "neck-cover" (cf. O.H.G. halsberc), from hals "neck" + bergan "to cover, protect."
pilgrim A religious devotee who journeys to a shrine or sacred place. c.1200, pilegrim, from O.Fr. pelegrin (11c.), from L. peregrinus "foreigner," from peregre (adv.) "from abroad," from per- "beyond" + agri, locative case of ager "country" (see acre). Change of first -r- to -l- in Romance languages by dissimilation.
My husband and I happily watched, for the second time, Sharpe's Eagle, the BBC television movie based on Bernard Cornwell's novel. The whole point of the Sharpe stories is that Richard Sharpe, the up from the ranks officer, is no gentleman. That is, he's more than common, he's trash. His mother was a drunk and a whore. He didn't learn to read until he was in the army. He has a criminal past. He was in a foundling home in Yorkshire until he ran away to London and became a street tough. Sean Bean, who plays Sharpe in the movies, is from Sheffield and sounds it. Not Yorkshire or London, but it works.
But in this movie, the second in the series, Sharpe is introduced to the vile Colonel Henry Simmerson, a pompous pedantic slime of an aristocrat who dogs Sharpe throughout several of the movies. He insults Sharpe right off the bat. Sharpe manages to keep his dignity and gives the Colonel a civil anser to some simple questions. It is then that someone informs Simmerson that Sharpe is no gentleman. He is an up through the ranks field commissioned officer. Simmerson blows a gasket and refuses to work with an officer who is not of the nobility.
What's wrong with this picture, or rather this soundtrack? Simmerson would have known the instant Sharpe opened his mouth that Sharpe was no gentleman. His manner of speaking, from accent to diction to phrasing would have revealed that right away. This is somethign I notice in historical fiction though. Rarely is the class distinction obvious to a real person in whatever social era the book represents acknowledged by the author. This is true of American authors but also of British. Is it that the regional accents have faded so much that we don't realize how distinct they were in, say, 1809 when this movie and the novel it is based on takes place? Or are class distinctions so foreign to us these days that we don't think of that when we write our characters? Are we so exhausted researching every other little detail that we just ignore distinctions of speech entirely and hope no one notices?
