Anecdotes behind the colorful phrases

Of late, not a day passes without TV News about pink slips being handed out. If my last post delved into the various colorful phrases and an earlier post “In the Thick of Pink” had sort of predicted this deluge of pink slips in a way, what one may wonder now, is :-

“Why is it called the pink slip, anyway?”

The origin of ‘pink slip’ – A notice of termination
If youngsters thought it was a new phrase doing the rounds, think again. Pink Slip refers to an old practice which originated in the American Corporations, when personnel departments would hand over a ‘discharge notice’, notifying termination of employment or layoff in the pay envelope. The letter was printed on pink paper to distinguish it from other notices issued to employees. The practice was reported in the New York Times in 1910 by editors of the Random House Dictionary. So if you can see the term ‘pink slip’ will be celebrating its centenary in just two years in 2010. Perhaps we are preparing the celebrations already?!!

Some more interesting anecdotal origins of color phrases may interest you.
Origin of ‘Yellow Journalism’ – The practice of Sensationalizing news
The term originated when circulation battles between Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. peaked from 1895 to about 1898, when both papers were accused by critics of sensationalizing the news in order to drive up circulation, although the newspapers did serious reporting as well. The New York Press coined the term “yellow kid journalism” in early 1897 after a then-popular comic strip, “The Yellow Kid”, which was published by both during a circulation war. Later the term shortened to "yellow journalism"

Origin of ‘Red Tape’ – Bureaucratic delays in taking decisions
It is first noted in historical records in the 16th century, when Henry VIII besieged Pope Clement VII with around eighty or so petitions for the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon! It was referred to red tape - so its around for longer than 500 years!
It’s popularity soared when All American Civil War veterans' records were bound in red tape, and the difficulty in accessing them led to the current use of the term in its modern sense sometime before this. Havent you observed that red string used to tie up files before they get pushed from table to table in Government offices.
(I have had the opportunity (???) to chase such files)

Origin of ‘Green with envy’ – when becoming jealous of others
In some cultures, envy is often associated with the color green, as in "green with envy". The phrase "green-eyed monster" refers to an individual whose current actions appear motivated by envy. This is based on a line from Shakespeare's Othello. Shakespeare mentions it also in The Merchant of Venice when Portia states: "How all the other passions fleet to air, as doubtful thoughts and rash embraced despair and shuddering fear and green-eyed jealousy!"

Origin of ‘Once in a blue moon’ – a rare event
A blue moon is a name given to an irregularly timed full moon. Most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately monthly, but each calendar year contains those twelve full lunar cycles plus about eleven days to spare. The extra days accumulate, so that every two or three years there is an extra full moon (which happens every 2.72 years). The extra moon is called a "blue moon". The term blue moon is commonly used metaphorically to describe a rare event, as in the saying "once in a blue moon".

Origin of ‘the blues’ – the “down spirits’
The phrase "the blues" is a reference to the Blue Devils, meaning "down" spirits, melancholy, and sadness. An early reference to "the blues" can be found in George Colman's one act farce Blue devils in as early as 1798! It has been in modern use since 1912, when Hart Wand's "Dallas Blues" became the first copyrighted Blues composition. In lyrics the phrase is often used to describe a depressed mood.

Origin of ‘purple patch’ – an unusually good time of outstanding achievement
The term purple patch is also used in a more general, and more unequivocally positive, sense to refer to a period of outstanding achievement. This usage is particularly common in sporting contexts: for example, a footballer who had scored in six successive games might be said to be "enjoying a purple patch". Like Yuvraj Singh has been experiencing in the on-going India-England ODI series.

Nothing new, isnt it?
Source: Wikipedia

Blogger's Post-Script: Late edition addition: My article "Biometric Possibilities - Bite the Bullet has appeared in the Times of India Edit Page on 24/11/2008.
Click on this link to read it