Just for the Craic - Favourite Musical Expressions Anyone?

Hey Everyone,

I have an interest in etymology as well as music. Doing a bit of research on organs earlier this week I learned what a "stop" is and it dawned on me that the term "to pull out all the stops" comes from organs. I had never thought about it before.

Organists pull out the stops to enhance the sound of the organ getting a richer, louder sound, so the term "to pull out all the stops" came to mean not holding back to achieve something.

I was wondering if anyone has any interesting/ favourite musical idioms or terms they'd like to share? Be great to hear the meaning and the back story too!

Erica

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Permalink Reply by Paul Ivory on July 26, 2012 at 0:08

Hi Erica,

I hope you’re well and keeping as fit as a fiddle. Seeing as you called the tune here I thought I might as well face the music and jot down a few thoughts. I don’t mean to blow my own trumpet or anything, as I’m very much playing this by ear, but I thought of quite a few musical idioms earlier. In fact they went in and out of my head all day like a fiddler’s elbow. Anyway, as I write this hopefully I won’t be whistling in the dark. Aren’t idioms are great? They’re like music to my ears, but in order to hit the right note they have to be clear as a bell. Am I making sense? If not, I’ll read over this and fine tune it. I hope this strikes a chord with what you’re looking for. If not, maybe I’ll have to change my tune.

Well, that’s all I can think of for now. Have a nice day and all that jazz.

Paul