"Listening to Rural Midwstern Idioms/Folk Sayings" by Bob Bohlken

This short book is in our Missouri Authors Collection and is a real disappointment.  The author, who has a PhD from KU and taught at NWMSU in Maryville, claims that this is a guide to rural Midwestern folk sayings, but he lists no proof that they originated in the Midwest.  For example, according to the Phrase Finder web site, the first known use of "let the cat out of the bag" in print is in a 1760 edition of The London Magazine.  Additionally, there's a whole chapter of very widely used sayings which originated in sports, and there is no proof of Midwestern origins for any of them.

The book appears not to have had an editor as there are spelling and punctuation errors.  Many of the idioms appear more than once, although in different chapters, and seem to be padding the book.  The entry for each one has an allusion which explains its literal meaning and a reference to what it now means.  An example of the idiom in a sentence ends each entry.  Most of the allusions were completely unneeded.  For example, in the entry "put his foot in his mouth," the author writes "alludes to an unusual and difficult act."  Really?  That tells me nothing about the saying.  I'd much rather know the origin than the literal meaning.

Another complaint is that the author continually explains the sayings as nouns, especially people, rather than verbs, adjectival phrases, or adverbial clauses.  In the previous example, "put his foot in his mouth", he writes, "refers to someone who gets into trouble by saying the wrong thing."  I believe that the saying is a verb, not a "someone," which is a noun.   Another example is the entry for the saying "play it by ear."  The author writes "alludes to listening carefully.  Refers to someone who should not speak before analyzing what others have said.  In this situation I advise you to play it by ear."  In my opinion, the author got the meaning of the saying completely wrong, and refers to it as a noun.  UGH!

I did chuckle at a few of the sayings, most of which I've heard many times with a few differences.  Those new to me that made me laugh are "ugly enough to knock a maggot off a gut wagon," "ugly as homemade soap," and "busy as a one-armed paperhanger with hives."  70 pages.