Transcript of “Fit to Be Tied, But How, and To What?”
Welcome to A Way with Words.
Hi, Martha. This is Marsha Berenson calling from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Hey, Marsha. Welcome to the show. What can we do for you today?
I recently heard a phrase that my mom had used frequently. The phrase she used was when she was aggravated. Not real angry, but more annoyed. So the phrase was, and she’d say it this way, well, I was fit to be tied. She would use that if she was frustrated.
So, for example, if she wanted to buy a specific item at a store close to her home, and they said, oh, no, but our such and such store five miles away has it in stock. And then mom would drive five miles away, and lo and behold, that item wouldn’t be there. And she’d be annoyed, frustrated, and she’d say, and I was fit to be tied. And so you’re wondering what in the heck she meant.
Well, you know what she meant, but why did she use that particular phrase? Right, and where it came from. And I thought, you guys are the experts. I’m not going to try to speculate or go on the Internet and look it up.
We can break this down to its component parts. Fit, of course, means appropriate for or ready. So if you are fit, it means that you are in a position for something. So if I am fit for an occasion, it means I am ready for that occasion or I am suited for it. So we might say other expressions that are very similar to this. I’m fit to burst. He was fit to burst because he was ready to speak, but they wouldn’t let him. Or fit to drop, meaning I’m exhausted.
And then the tied part is what needs the most expression here. It literally refers to being tied up. And the idea is that you need to be restrained. That you have to be held back. That you’re so angry that people have to grab your arms and hold you back because you might be swinging fists, you know?
I can see it, Grant. I can see it. Flailing at somebody or flailing at the frustration. Is that an old expression?
It sure is. It dates back to at least 200 years old. Yeah. And it appears in James Joyce used it. Dorothy Parker used it. And there’s a lovely Australian synonym, which I think is even more concise. They say that someone is ropeable.
Oh, my. Oh, I like that. Well, that’s just fascinating. It’s interesting that it’s over 200 years old, and I wonder where Mom got a hold of it. She was always an avid reader. It’s very colloquial at this point. I wouldn’t even call it slang. I would just say it’s idiomatic in English. That’s how widespread it is in pretty much every dialect of English in all continents where it’s spoken.
Great. I’m so pleased that you found it an interesting phrase and that you took the time to look into it.
Oh, our pleasure. As always, Marcia, thank you for taking some time out of your day and speaking to us.
Well, it was my pleasure. I’m excited. Thank you so much. Call us again sometime, all right?
I will. Thank you so much. You take care.
