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I have been reading a piece on Anthony Trollope, whose novels 'move in a land where it is always afternoon, where storms do not threaten, where no ground quivers beneath his foot'. If you think, after reading that sentence, that he is just the author to turn to in our troubled times, you are taking the easy way out. Unlike Thackeray, Trollope 'loved his period without patronizing it' and 'believed in it without arrogance'. There is a lesson in his career for those shutting their eyes to the pulsating present and chasing the shadowy figures of a past age. At the moment, however, I am not interested so much in Trollope's success as in his perceptive criticism of his more talented contemporary. Trollope said Thackeray rarely (apart from 'Henry Esmond', never) used the novelist's 'elbow grease', namely, forethought. 'Elbow grease', according to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, stands for hard manual work, especially vigorous polishing or cleaning. The phrase has been in use, especially in informal contexts, since 1672. Collins English Dictionary (Millennium edition) points out that it is facetious. But Trollope, who admired Thackeray, was not making a tongue-in-cheek remark. If you use a lot of elbow grease, you put a lot of effort into doing something. The telling phrase, describing Thackeray's want of energy and his temptation to every form of go-as-you-please (Frank Swinnerton's term for improvisation), illustrates the power of slang-and its danger. To quote Walter Nash, 'its power is to play on feeling, appeal to common-man sympathies, evoke temperamental responses, implant judgments; while it beguiles us with its impudence and colour, its danger lies in its distortions, exaggerations'. Some words and phrases, shunned till recently in polite society, have gained general acceptance, elbowing out circumlocutions, while many others are still suspect. The noun, 'elbow', standing for the joint or bend of the arm between the forearm and the upper arm, made its appearance before the 12th century. It is related to the Middle English 'elbowe', which is derived from the Old English 'elnboga', Old Norse 'olbogi' and Old High German 'elinbogo'. To 'elbow (1605) someone' is to 'push, jostle, or shove him/her with the elbow'. The girl elbowed her way through the crowd. The word at times conveys the idea of rudeness. 'Elbow' also stands for something having a bend or angle similar to the human elbow - (1) a length of pipe with a sharp bend in it (2) a bend in a river or on a road. In the example, 'The lane/river elbows to the left', the lane/river has a bend to the left. DMK leader M Karunanidhi addressed ten election meetings with Arcot Veerasamy always at his elbow (within easy reach). A person is said to be out at the elbows if he/she looks ragged or is impoverished. To give somebody the elbow is to reject/dismiss that person. The girl gave Hari the elbow when she heard of his unsavoury background. A crowded bus gives one no elbowroom to move about and exercise one's limbs. Hari's position at the office did not offer him elbowroom to improvise: he had to follow rigid rules. We have the expression 'tennis elbow' (1883) for the inflammation and pain over the outer side of the elbow. 'More power to your elbow!' is an expression of praise or admiration for someone's success or bravery. Before I log off, let me thank Ms Mala Rao and Dr Subramanian for their gloss on the expression, 'painting oneself into a corner'. Readers' response/inputs can be e-mailed to mhdevan@chennaionline.com.
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