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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
this one was covered by the Word Maven crew at Random House a couple of years ago, and I quote:
Books on proverbs and sayings all agree that Butter wouldn't melt in her (or his) mouth is not used to describe nice people. So residents of Seattle ought to be annoyed that it was used in an essay about them. The phrase is first recorded in 1530 in John Palsgrave's Lesclarcissement, one of the earliest French grammars written for English speakers, and therefore a good record of the English and French language of that period: "He maketh as thoughe butter wolde nat melte in his mouthe." By 1546 the saying was common enough to be recorded in John Heywood's book of proverbs: "She looketh as butter wouldn't melt in her mouth."
The saying refers to someone who is demure and proper, and therefore "cold" enough to keep butter from melting. But it's used in a contemptuous way to imply that the person is overly demure and proper, and has an insincere desire to please. So the sense nearest the mark is '(one who is) superficially nice but is treacherous deep down'. [EA] The underlying insincerity is shown in this excerpt from Jonathan Swift's Polite Conversation (1738): "She looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth but I warrant, cheese won't choak her." The derogatory connotation is also evident in this excerpt from William Makepeace Thackeray's Pendennis (1850): "She smiles and languishes, you'd think that butter would not melt in her mouth."
And this quote from Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind should finally settle the matter among your friends: "'I said some terrible things to him that night when he deserted us on the road, but I can make him forget them', she thought contemptuously, still sure of her power to charm. 'Butter won't melt in my mouth when I'm around him. I'll make him think I always loved him and was just upset and frightened that night'".
so while it may have started out as simply meaning 'cold', it has shifted in meaning somewhat.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Re: Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
i have only heard (and used it) to mean someone is very cold. but i can see how it could be used to define a bald faced liar..
another one we used at home was 'drinking vinegar' as in have you been drinking vinegar?-- and it was used when some one made a very cutting or nasty remark about something.
it was not interchangable with being a sour puss, but was specifically used for the idea of sharp, cutting remarks.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Thanks, tsuwm, for your pasted post. That helped.
By coincidence, the StriveTo vocabulary word of the day is marmoreal, which is related:
"The Word of the Day for December 10 is:
marmoreal • \mahr-MOR-ee-ul\ • (adjective)
: of, relating to, or suggestive of marble or a marble statue especially in
coldness or aloofness"
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