“You are the apple of my eye!” – If ever there was an expression that we all use and know the meaning of but which – when you really think about it – does not quite make sense – this is it! The indefatigable Wikipedia has this to say “The phrase “apple of my eye” refers in English to something or someone that one cherishes above all others.” So much for the usage, it then goes on to say “Originally, the phrase was simply an idiom referring to the pupil of the eye.” Wikipedia continues that the earliest recorded usage is from the 9th Century in a publication attributed to Alfred the Great (he of the burnt cakes and the persistent spider) but then refers to Shakespeare and finally to the King James edition of The Bible. Shakespeare is credited with originating so many words and phrases that one has to wonder whether it is merely that he was such a prolific playwright and thus he is the first to write down certain things – after all, who goes around inventing words and phrases – especially a man who played to the hoi polio and to the gentry within the same play – jokes for the former and subtle machinations for the latter. Would it not be confusing to be inventing things? Likewise with the bible – surely the translator from the Hebrew text, used common parlance or idiom to make the Bible understandable. However, both Shakespeare (in Midsummer Night’s Dream) and instances in the bible seem to be using the Apple of Your Eye to refer to the dark pupil at the centre of the eye, or possibly to the entire eye. Personally, as a lover of apples, I always took the phrase to conflate the seeing of and comparison to a beloved object such as an apple…
My father, who was an academic at the University of Oxford, was fond of pointing out, that “To most of the world, the word Academic, means irrelevant!” That makes the word Academic a contranym – a word which has two opposite meanings – high brow and irrelevant. Other examples are:-
To cleave
Definition 1: to join or adhere closely; cling.
Example 1: The shy baby rabbit cleaved to his mother’s body.
Definition 2: to split or divide, especially by cutting.
Example 2: The hunter uses a Swiss Army knife to cleave the rabbit’s meat from the bone.
To sanction
Definition 1: to permit or grant approval.
Example 1: In some countries, the government sanctions the ownership of guns by private citizens.
Definition 2: to condemn or penalize.
Example 2: In some states, the government imposes sanctions on the ownership of guns by private citizens.
Where does the word academic come from? Plato’s Academy was taught by the great philosopher in the public gardens known as “the grove of Akadēmos,” a legendary Athenian of the Trojan War tales (his name, Latinized as Academus, apparently means “of a silent district”), who was original estate-holder of the site”, see here for more.
Do contranyms make the learning of the English language more difficult than other languages (do other languages also have contranyms? Do please tell…) Not as hard as the verbs at the end of the sentence putting (German) or having to know the gender of objects (many languages) and not always either guessable or logical either! There are not such an onerous number of contranyms to be learned and to dumb down the language by avoiding their use would, I think, be a loss – so I cleave to contranyms…*
A fun post that had me thinking.
Ronel visiting for A:
My Languishing TBR: A
Accomplished Athena
Thanks Ronel – we aim to please…
I’m with you on Shakespeare, he has been made into this incomparable genius, but maybe he just was clever and forward-thinking enough to know written words have weight! I love the apply of my eye saying, not really sure why, but definitely its weirdness is part of its charm 🙂
Thank you for a great post!
Anubis and the dogs of Egypt [Life with Mia]
Hi Andi – I’m glad you agree about Shakespeare – always nervous about taking potshots at sacred cows…
An interesting post, and may I add the phrase “Leave to Remain” which is an odd one as well.
Yes – as a phrase it reads as a contranym, but that rests on the word leave having two meanings depart, and permission which are not contranym in themselves. But an oddly officious sounding phrase no doubt!
Apple of my eye…hmm, what if apple is not someone’s favourite!
Jokes apart, it was an interesting post. 🙂
I love contronyms (I’ve heard them called “autoantonyms”). “To dust,” “fast,” “bolt,” there’s so many of them.
English is a silly and overcomplicated language. I feel terrible for people trying to learn it. In what other language do you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?
http://www.cdgallantking.ca/2023/04/a-is-for-army-painter.html
“silly and overcomplicated” – do you think so? Maybe to speak and write it perfectly – but I believe the strength that makes English so easy to learn (hence it’s ubiquity) is that you can string words together in any old order, almost any pronunciation and with no gendering and be understood by English speakers and other learners – simples…
Never knew about the phrase “apple of my eye.” Interesting.
Thanks for visiting! I have been over to yours too…
How interesting! I had to look it up, and what do you know, we do have them in German, they are called “Janusworte”.
Back to the apple 🍎 though. All these years I thought Stevie Wonder was singing “you are the apple of my PIE”?!!! (You are the sunshine of my life). 🙈
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/2023/04/airport.html
Hi Tamara janusworte – that’s great although you have to know your classical figures…
Contranyms don’t trip me up as much as “terrific” and “horrific” having two opposite meanings… 😀
Off to a fun start! I still wonder how apple and eye came together…
The Multicolored Diary
Yes, it is still strange, isn’t it? Thanks for visiting…
Idioms in languages definitely spice learning different tongues more interesting for sure, lol.
Shakespeare is such a controversial topic, I love delving into the nitty gritty and reading all the different theories and rabbit trails.
Returning the favor from the #a2z comment train ^_^
Thanks for calling – you have seen I visited you too – pleased to meet you…
Interesting – I love looking into the derivation of phrases.
DB McNicol – Small Delights, Simple Pleasures, and Significant Memories
My Snap Memories – My Life in Black & White
Love your take Frewin, exhaustively narrated! This is the positive consequence of the ‘A to Z’. participation. We get pleasantly surprised with lots of new ideas from sources normally taken for granted. You have provided a classic idea. Thanks for dropping by. Hank will certainly follow you forthwith.
Hank
I hope it has not left you too exhausted Hank…
I like blogs which teach, and yours does, without being pedantic, so , thank you.
Thanks for dropping by and for the kind comment Janice…
Delightful start to the challenge, and I know I’m going to enjoy the entire series. Language is so fascinating and I especially the quirky bits. Clearly, you’ll be giving me lots to think about this April.
Just you wait – there are some doozys to come – and where does doozys come from I wonder…
Thanks for visiting!
Thanks a lot, today I´ve learned some new words. The meaning of academic is the one that surprised me the most.
Visiting from: https://steampunkcowunicorn.wordpress.com/2023/04/02/a-is-for-abask/
Apart from my father’s take on it, I also had to discover the origin too…
I love contranyms, and cleave was one I first learned of.. In fact, cleave
is a poetic form as well created by Dr. Phuoc-Tan Diep (a form that is used to write a poem with cleave-like characteristics)
and thanks for visiting me… I hope to visit again many times over this challenge
I´ve never heard the word contranyms before, this is quite interesting, I only knew one contranym: the word “umfahren” which could mean to go around something or to knock it over.
Learning new things is the apple of my eye, indeed! 😀
I learned a lot researching these phrases too…