Words of Our Times

Find my books here

Quarantine, pandemic, social distancing, shelter in place – not all new words, but phrases that have become part of our lives because of the COVID-19 and which will long be associated with 2020.

Throughout the centuries, there have always been phrases that have earmarked a generation. I say “For Pete’s sake” all the time and every time I do, my grandkids ask, “Who’s Pete?” This particular phrase comes from the expression for Christ’s sake. Some people, for religious reasons, don’t want to use the word Christ in a negative way, and, instead, use Pete as an alternative. It originated around 1900. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "for Pete's sake" expresses frustration or annoyance and prompted similar sayings such as "for the love of Pete" in 1906.

Very often, the expressions or sayings don’t make sense literally. I can remember my aunt saying “it’s the cat’s pajamas”. That always made me laugh because of course, cats don’t wear pajamas. That phrase became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s, along with “bee’s knees” and “the cat’s whiskers.” In the 1920s, the word cat was used as a term to describe the unconventional flappers from the jazz era. This was combined with the word pajamas (a relatively new fashion in the 1920s) to form a phrase used to describe something that is the best at what it does, thus making it highly sought and desirable.

I never really thought about pajamas being a fairly modern word as versus nightgown, or nightrail. I do recall once an editor telling me that “shirtwaist” wasn’t the appropriate term for a blouse in the time period I was writing. I’m not sure every reader would catch individual words but as an author I want to be as authentic as possible.

When I was researching “An Interlude”, I wanted a few words that would have been appropriate and used during the roaring twenties. I loved finding “my main squeeze” to indicate a loved one; “hard boiled” to indicate a mean or ruthless man, and the still usable “don’t take any wooden nickels.”

Words and phrases help the reader understand the time period of the novel. For example, when writing historical, an author must be very careful to use phrases that were part of a particular century. You don’t “turn on a light” back in the Middle Ages when candles were used. Simple words also indicate time and place. Does your villain steal an SUV, jalopy, roadster, barouche or wagon? Does “Alexis” turn on the lights when you enter a room, or does your butler? (Although I suppose that is not mutually exclusive.)

All of this is just part of the fascinating research I like to do before I start writing. Having a vocabulary that creates a sense of time for my stories is just as important as knowing what color their hair and eyes are. For a chuckle and to recall some fun phrases from your childhood, visit https://www.bustle.com/articles/25318-88-hilarious-slang-terms-from-the-20th-century-to-sprinkle-through-your-writing-like-youre-putting.

I invite you to explore Books We Love and see how I and other authors use words and phrases in our stories. And in this new time of needing to maintain our personal space and boundaries, know that Books We Love is trying to help by offering a FREE download book every day of the pandemic. Check their website at http://www.bookswelove.com/. They’re also having an April contest, which actually deals with the blog, so check it out.

Barbara Baldwin

http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin

http://www.bookswelove.com/romance-authors/baldwin-barbara/