🪙 Coin a Phrase, To: The Craft of Creating Expressions 💡
Coin a phrase, to - To fashion an expression. This term, dating from the 1940s, is often used ironically to apologize for using a cliché, as in “He acts like the cock of the walk, to coin a phrase.” But it can also be used straightforwardly, referring to the act of inventing an expression, a usage dating from the late 1500s.
Related and Similar Terms
- Invent a word - To create a new term or expression.
- Turn of phrase - A particular way of expressing something.
- Silver-tongued - Being eloquent and persuasive in speech.
- Neologism - A newly coined word or expression.
Synonyms
- Formulate
- Mint
- Fabricate (for an expression)
- Craft
Antonyms
- Erase (for an expression)
- Plagiarize
- Borrow (without coining new)
Humor-filled Quotes
- “I’ve coined so many phrases, my piggy bank is now a dictionary!” – Penny Prolific
- “I started coining phrases to stop coining other people’s spare change.” – Nickel Neologist
Proverbs and References
- “Necessity is the mother of invention.” – Often, necessity drives the invention of new phrases.
- From Shakespeare’s plays, one can find countless phrases he coined, such as “Break the ice,” and “Heart of gold.”
Suggested Literature and Media
- Books: “The Elements of Eloquence” by Mark Forsyth
- Movies: “The Hundred-Foot Journey” (featuring many culturally coined phrases)
- Poetry: Anything by William Wordsworth, who had a knack for coining phrases
- Songs: “Wordplay” by Jason Mraz – exploration of words and phrases
Quiz Time! 🎉
### Which of these is an example of coining a phrase?
- [ ] Painting with rainbows
- [x] "Google it"
- [ ] Twinkling like shoes
- [ ] Raining marshmallows
> **Explanation:** "Google it" is a phrase that has been coined to mean searching for information online using the Google search engine.
### True or False: "Spill the beans" is an example of neologism.
- [ ] True
- [x] False
> **Explanation:** "Spill the beans" is not a neologism; it's an established idiom that means to reveal a secret.
### Which phrase usage aligns with straightforward coining?
- [ ] "Beating a dead hippopotamus"
- [x] "Blogging"
- [ ] "Tangling with shrimp"
- [ ] "Cycling with sharks"
> **Explanation:** "Blogging" is a straightforward coined term referring to writing for a blog.
### Identify the term that humorously relates to coining:
- [ ] Whispering to the walls
- [ ] Flying with flamingos
- [x] Mintage of metaphors
- [ ] Boiling with bananas
> **Explanation:** "Mintage of metaphors" cleverly relates to the idea of coining new phrases.
### True or False: Coining terms dates back to the late 1500s.
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** True—"coining a phrase" has been used to describe the creation of new expressions since the late 1500s.
Parting Thought: “Discovery is to see what everyone else has seen, but to think what nobody else has thought. So keep coining those phrases and enlightening the world!”
Goodbye and happy phrase hunting!
- Sylvia Spincraft, October 2023
