Idiom's Delight - 23 February 2015

<p>This week on "A Way with Words": What's in a name? A recent study found that some names crop up more frequently than others in certain professions. The name William is especially common among attorneys--and graphic designers include a higher-than-average number of Jessicas. Plus, picturesque idioms from around the world: What Russians mean when they say someone has "a burning hat," and what Swedes mean when they say someone "slid in on a shrimp sandwich." Speaking of food, where would you find a self-licking ice cream cone? A good place to look: Washington, D.C. Plus, bunking, Carter's got pills, the Philly slang word jawn, Irish tough love, do-ocracy, the pulmonic ingressive, and the etymology of tip.<br /><br />FULL DETAILS<br /><br />In English, we might say that someone born to a life of luxury was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In Swedish, though, the image is different. Someone similarly spoiled is said to slide in on a shrimp sandwich. For more picturesque idioms from foreign languages, check out Suzanne Brock's beautifully illustrated Idiom's Delight. <br /><br />Students in New England might refer to playing hooky from school as bunking, or bunking off. Jonathon Green's Dictionary of Slang traces the term back to the 1840s in the British Isles.<br /><br />In Russian, someone with an uneasy conscience is described by an idiom that translates as The thief has a burning hat--perhaps because he's suffering discomfort that no one else perceives.<br /><br />A Washington, D.C., caller says her dad would console her with the saying Don't worry, it will be better before you're married. Which is really less a heartfelt consolation than it is a better way to say, get over it. The saying comes from Ireland.<br /><br />The terms self-licking ice cream cone, self-eating watermelon, and self-licking lollipop all refer to organizations, such as governmental bureaucracies, that appear to exist solely for the sake of perpetuating themselves. <br /><br />Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game where the answer to each