SHAGGY DOGS: Albert Jackwith more explanations for the phrases we use.
TO TAKE a person under your wingis to provide them with friendly encouragement, advice and protection. The source of this expression, which has been in use for two millennia, can be traced to the Bible.
In Matthew 23:37, Jesus expresses his sorrow at what has become of Jerusalem and declares his wish to protect his people, like a hen will protect her chicks by spreading her wings so that they can find safety and shelter beneath them: "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent onto thee. How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen would gather her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"
After a speech like that, I really can't think why the people turned their backs on him.
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The quaint old English expression, that's just the ticket, means "just what I needed and at just the right time". Some believe the phrase derives from a corruption of the French word, étiquette. The idea is that the right way to proceed comes from étiquette, or the formal procedures and customs that ensure matters run smoothly.
But there is another, more likely, suggestion dating back to before the second World War, when "meal tickets" were handed out to the needy in exchange for essential items such as food and clothing. During and after the war, ration books were distributed, and it is easy to imagine a shopkeeper exclaiming, "that's the ticket", when the correct one was produced for a transaction.
The French word étiquettecan also be translated as "ticket"; hence "that's the ticket" actually means "that's the right etiquette" across the channel.
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To blot your copybookis to make a mistake, but not a particularly serious one. It means you are out of favour for a while until you can make amends. The expression originates from the time when children learned to write using fountain pens and inkwells. Schools would provide children with two writing books: one for rough work, which could be full of crossed-out mistakes, misspellings and ink blots; and a copybook, which would be used for finished work and presented to the teacher for appraisal.
Children would be punished, although not severely, for "blotting their copybooks" with ink stains.
• Extracted from Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheepby Albert Jack (Penguin Books)