{"id":64461,"date":"2012-12-27T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2012-12-27T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/?p=64461"},"modified":"2021-05-17T03:39:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T08:39:35","slug":"fashion-idioms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/archive\/fashion-idioms\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re hot on the heels over what these popular fashion idioms and phrases mean"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s no skirting the issue:  us ladies at TBF are always hot on the heels<\/a> of an amazing deal, ready to scarf up everything that\u2019ll make us look cute as a button.  Hey, wait a minute, is it me or are there a lot of clothing-related phrases<\/strong> going on here?  Buttons, skirts, heels . . . hmmm.  Just for kicks, we decided to get the scoop on the origin of some common fashion idioms<\/strong> and phrases.  Here\u2019s the lowdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

What some fashion idioms mean<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Skirt the Issue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow, some of this word origin stuff gets heavy (Viking invasions and the Old Norse language).  Whew.  Bottom line: \u201cskirt<\/a>\u201d started showing up in English around 1300 (very pre-Target), a time when village borders were referred to as the \u201coutskirts.\u201d  People sometimes traveled these outskirts instead of passing directly through a city to avoid awkward or troublesome situations (kind of like how I drive just to avoid craziness in certain parking lots).  Such serious info, right?  Hey, I just like to say, \u201cI’\u2019m not going to skirt the issue\u2014I love a good deal.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hot on the Heels <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who knows me is well aware that I\u2019m a sucker for heels.  Next time I slip my sole into a Bandolino<\/em> pump though, I\u2019ll be thinking of that game where people make each other guess the location of something with \u201cyou\u2019re getting warmer . . . hot\u201d clues.   However, zeroing in on something has do with (turn your eyes away, vegetarians) a hunting reference where hounds are literally on the heels of their prey, in hot pursuit of dinner (which also evolved to the “getting warmer” phrase in the find-the-object game).  Wow, who knew?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hats off to You<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ah, got a promotion?  Score an amazing find in your favorite store?  Well,  \u201chats off to you\u201d for a job well done.  Taking off or tipping a hat  demonstrates respect or approval, so lots of times people use this phrase to offer congrats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Cute as a Button <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve often wondered about this one.  I mean, kittens (shout out to my 7-month-old tabby, Mango), yes.  Babies, of course.  But what\u2019s so special about a button that makes it cute?  I don\u2019t see pictures of buttons making the rounds on Facebook with the option to \u201clike\u201d if it\u2019s cute.  I digress.  Anyway, looks like the phrase comes from the idea that small = cute (ah, back to kittens and babies again).  There\u2019s also info floating around that this has nothing to do with clothes buttons, but instead, the flower called a \u201cBachelor’s Button.\u201d  Supposedly, the bud was considered cute and well, the rest is history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying by the Seat of My Pants <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank goodness for technology.  Back in the day, before airplanes had fancy control systems, pilots often responded to a plane\u2019s reaction based on feedback they felt (get this) from the seat of their pants (the largest point of contact a person had with the plane).  Seriously.  Well, we have to agree . . . at least when it comes to fashion.  Depending on where we’re going, it\u2019s all about the pants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tighten One’s Belt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mmmm . . . bring out roasted potatoes and pie (or not).  The origin of this belt-related fashion idiom has a lot to do with food and the lack of it during the Great Depression.  Scarfing up (we\u2019ll get to that one later) food meant having a good meal \u201cunder their belt.\u201d  Hungrier\u2014and therefore thinner\u2014people were \u201ctightening their belts,\u201d on a mission to change the situation in their favor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scarf Up<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, gentlest of soles,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What elevates your beauty with grand detail?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why, \u2018tis the heel no doubt . . .<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And always loveliest during a midnight sale.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, I totally made that up.  But truth is, this may be from Shakespearean origin.  The idea of scarfing something up (be it a shoe sale or a turkey platter) comes from Macbeth:  \u201cCome, seeling night, scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day . . . ”  Seems that \u201cscarf up\u201d meant to quickly cover up something until it was out of sight (or memory) and gone for good.  Hmmm.  Kind of like how us fashionistas have a knack for emptying department store shelves.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, ladies, any other interesting phrases and fashion idioms that knock your socks off<\/strong>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no skirting the issue:  us ladies at TBF are always hot on the heels of an amazing deal, ready to scarf up everything that\u2019ll make us look cute as a button.  Hey, wait a minute, is it me or are there a lot of clothing-related phrases going on here?  Buttons, skirts, heels . .… Read More »We’re hot on the heels over what these popular fashion idioms and phrases mean<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":854,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fashion-trends"],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":null,"thumbnail_uri":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}