Once In A Blue Moon

There's a harvest moon, a strawberry moon, a blood moon--and the list goes on. One of those on the list is a blue moon. To take that literally you might think that the moon would be blue then but that is not the case. It has to do with the number of full moons in a year or in some cases, a month.

There are actually two definitions for blue moon. One was created by an amateur astronomer named James Hugh Pruett who referred to the blue moon as the second full moon in a month. His article appeared in a magazine, Sky and Telescope, in 1946 and the definition stuck but it actually had nothing to do with the seasonal blue moon that was originally defined.

The name blue moon was given to the full moon that was actually not one of the original twelve named full moons in the year like the harvest moon, wolf moon, etc. This blue moon only occurs in the years when there are thirteen instead of twelve full moons. Apparently that only happens every two or three years.

This year, 2018, there were two blue moons (in January and in March) when we had two full moons in a month. On May 18, 2019, there will be a seasonal blue moon meaning it is the thirteenth moon of the year or a moon without a traditional name for its season.

So, after all that, you can see that once in a blue moon could mean a long wait for something to happen. Oh, and don't look to see if the moon is actually blue. That all depends on atmospheric conditions and happens even more rarely when a blue moon occurs.

Mind Your Own Bee's Wax!

While off exploring the origins of idioms in our language, I came across one that not only was intriguing but in light of a Ladies' Picnic Luncheon we are planning at our church, it seemed to fit the theme of my week. "Mind your own bee's wax." Now I always thought that the bee's wax part of that idiom had to do with a funny way of saying business. Not so.

Back in the day. . .before all the breakthroughs in cosmetics and acne treatments, ladies would use a thin layer of bee's wax to cover over their skin problems. Of course once the bee's wax was applied and dried you had to be very careful that it didn't crack. If done right apparently, the wax was a great cover-up. Of course you always had those who would study another lady's face closely to see if she had used bee's wax to make her look so good. Being scrutinized so closely might elicit the phrase, "Mind your own bee's wax!"

The practice of using the bee's wax also led to some other phrases. You couldn't move your facial muscles too much or the bee's wax would crack. So, your expression would have to be very somber. Thus is could be said that she "didn't crack a smile."

A girl wearing bee's wax would have to distance herself from the fire in the fireplace. Get too close and the wax would melt and she would be in danger of "losing face."

Now doesn't that make you more thankful for today's makeup?

This Isn't My First Rodeo

This weekend I went to get my nails done. Almost anywhere you get your nails done the staff is Vietnamese. The nail salon I frequent is not any different. The nail tech I had this time was chattier than most are and he struck up a conversation. When I went to put my hand in the light box that sets the gel polish I did it correctly to which he remarked, "This isn't your first rodeo."

I laughed. It sounded strange coming from someone whose first language isn't English. I answered, "No. And I hope I don't fall off the horse."

Then ensued a conversation about the origin of "This isn't my first rodeo." I had no idea but did offer that the "Goodnight, don't let the bed bugs bite," probably came from cowboys whose sleeping bags would get bugs in them when they slept out on the range. Maybe the rodeo phrase did too?

Well, inquiring mind that I am, I got home and started searching the phrase. It had nothing to do with cowboys directly. The best I could find was that it originated with a movie, Mommie Dearest, staring Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford. The movie was based on a book written by her step-daughter that was a memoir and did not put Crawford in a good light. In the scene where Crawford is dismissed from the Pepsi board, Dunaway's line is "This ain't my first time at the rodeo." The remark is not in the book so really must be attributed to the writer or writers of the screenplay.

The movie was in 1981 but several years later, in 1990 a recording artist, Vern Gosdin wrote and recorded a song, This Ain't My First Rodeo. He claimed to have heard some construction workers say that and jotted the phrase down to make into a song.

Now the research got a little more interesting when I read that in some parts of the country instead of the rodeo reference, you might say, "I didn't just fall off the turnip truck." And if you were from the UK, you might say, "I didn't come down with the last shower" (or yesterday's shower).

Every language has its sayings and idioms. The idioms drove me crazy learning Spanish. Our Hispanic friends went into peals of laughter when I messed up the idiom for feeling chilly. I had literally said I was frozen solid or perhaps worse--they did laugh a long time.