Question: Exactly how long is a "New York minute"? I can't find it in dictionaries I've checked. Please explain the meaning and origin of this popular phrase.
Answer: "New York minute" has not yet become established firmly enough in the language to warrant entry in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, but our evidence for it is growing steadily, especially since the early 1990s. It is usually used to mean "an instant" or "a relatively brief period of time," and "in a New York minute" typically suggests quick, instantaneous or unhesitating action. For example, in January of 1993 a well-known photography magazine reviewed a new instant camera that "spits out 31/2- by 41/8-inch snapshots in a New York minute."
"In a New York minute" probably originated as an emphatic version of the phrase "in a minute" as it is used in sentences such as, "If I won the lottery, I'd quit my job in a minute." The "New York" element emphasizes quickness by recalling the notion that in New York City everything is done faster and at a more hectic pace than anywhere else in the country. "New York minute" suggests that even time itself speeds up in the Big Apple, so that a New York minute is shorter than a minute in, say, Seattle or Pittsburgh.
At least one commentator has said that "New York minute" was used by a Texas sheriff as far back as 1967. However, we have seen no evidence to support this claim.
Question: Recently an elderly friend asked me if I ever heard the expression "layover for meddlers." She remembers as a child asking her mother what she got her for Christmas, and "layover for meddlers" was the answer. Her mother couldn't explain what it meant. Have you got a clue?
Answer: This strange expression, also seen as "lay over to catch meddlers," apparently was most familiar during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although several sources date it back to the mid-17th century. As you suggest, it is a response to a child's impertinent questioning. In plainer language, it means "none of your business."
Several derivations have been suggested for this old-fashioned phrase. According to one, a "layover" is a pit covered with branches to trap animals, and a "meddler" is, of course, a person who interferes with someone else's business. Thus, the phrase warns of the dangers of being overly curious. Another suggestion is that a "layover" is an instrument of punishment, such as a whip. Thus, the phrase suggests chastisement for the "meddler." Along the same lines, a third theory interprets "layover" as the act of inflicting punishment; that is, the inquisitive child is threatened with being "laid over" with a whip or other means of punishment. A less severe interpretation suggests that "layovers" are simply things "laid over" or "covered up" to protect them from meddlers. Unfortunately, none of these suggested derivations can be substantiated. In any case, the phrase is now extremely rare.
Question: It's back-to-school after the holidays, and though I'm ecstatic, my kids have the blues. When I mentioned the word to my youngest, she asked me what it meant. When I told her, she asked "Why?" Not having an answer for her, I'm turning to you. Where did the expression "the blues" come from? Does it have anything to do with the music?
Answer: The use of "blues" to mean "low spirits" is older than you might think. The first evidence we have for it comes from 1741, in a letter written by David Garrick, playwright and actor: "I am far from being quite well, tho not troubled with the Blews as I have been." The word is thought to have been originally short for the phrase "blue devils," a colloquial expression that means the same thing. We have no evidence of the phrase "blue devils" before 1781, however, and therefore cannot endorse that explanation without reservation. "Blue" used as an adjective (as in "She was looking blue") to describe a feeling of discomfort, fear, or low spirits goes back to the 16th century.
The musical style "the blues" is easier to track down. That sense is traceable to the sense of "blues" described above. The word "blues" was applied to the style of music as early as 1912, and there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that it is even older than that. The word was applied to the music because of the mournful quality of the tunes, evocative of a melancholy mood. Subsequently, the word "blue" was applied to a style of playing jazz and a type of musical scale used to play the blues.