Albatross Around Your Neck

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, my name is Paul. I’m calling from Duluth, Minnesota.

Welcome to the program, Paul.

Well, I’m happy to be on.

I’ve got to give you a little bit of background. I’ve got a question about a phrase. I’m kind of a political junkie. The other day, they were talking about some of the Republican candidates for the presidency, and they were talking about Mitt Romney and the whole health care deal that he managed to get through in Massachusetts. The speaker, the pundit, I guess, referring to that, said that, it’s funny, he said that Romney backing the health care bill in Massachusetts would be an Alcatraz around his neck.

An Alcatraz?

Yeah, and that reminded me of the phrase, an albatross around his neck, which is what I’m sure he meant to say.

Oh, yeah, most definitely. I almost fell out of my chair. I was laughing so hard. But that reminded me of the Monty Python skit from way back where this guy is just running around on a stage shouting, albatross. Anyway, I want to know, where does the term albatross around his neck come from? I know what an albatross is. It’s a large seabird. How does it get around your neck, and where does that come from?

Yay, Paul. I’m delighted you asked this question because this is an etymological question that we can definitely answer. It has a very, very clear etymology. Did you ever read Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Oh, back in high school, I think I did.

It will come back to you, I promise.

Yeah. This is the story of a sailor who’s condemned to walk the earth and tell everybody his terrible tale from going to sea when he killed an albatross. It’s a long story, but basically he killed an albatross and that sort of cursed the ship. And all the other sailors were angry with him, so angry with him, because bad things started happening on the ship. And the ship was just stuck there in sea, no wind. They were just stuck there. And so they were so angry, they tied this big old albatross around his neck. And as you said, an albatross is a really big bird. It’s got a huge wingspan. So you’re talking something that’s heavy and stinky. And it reminds you of what you did if it’s around your neck.

Right, right. Now it all comes back to me now. Now, Martha, do you…

You don’t hear that phrase an awful lot anymore.

I think it’s current enough, yeah.

Well, you know, I guess having Alcatraz run under your neck and neck.

Well, there’s a question that Martha and I… Martha’s probably thinking, because she’s a better Spanish speaker than I am. Was the person who said that a Spanish speaker?

No, it was the current governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick.

Interesting. He’s African-American, and he was the one who said it.

Well, it’s interesting because also the mayor of Boston, Tom Menino, who’s known for doing a lot of malapropisms.

Oh, wait. You know what? You’re right. I’m looking at my note here.

Oh, yeah?

And it was the governor of Massachusetts quoting the mayor of Boston.

Okay.

Okay, because I know that he said that in relation to Boston’s lack of parking. He said it’s an Alcatraz around my neck. Which is hilarious, but what Grant is getting at is that the word albatross may come from the Spanish and Portuguese word alcatraz, which means pelican or gannet or birds like that. It’s another type of seabird.

Yes. So I don’t know if this was completely a mistake on his part or if maybe he was influenced by some Spanish or Portuguese. Because alcatraz means a big seagoing bird.

Fascinating. Paul, thank you so much for calling.

Thank you.

Take care, Paul. Bye-bye.

Bye.

Call us with your language questions, 877-929-9673. And if some language question is an Alcatraz around your neck, email us, words@waywordradio.org.