Where do we get the expression more than you can shake a stick at? It probably just derives from counting. Imagine herdsmen bringing in their cattle or sheep at the end of the day, pointing with a stick in order to do a headcount. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Shake a Stick At”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Oh, hi, yes. This is Roz Coates coming from Dallas, Texas.
Hi, Roz. Welcome to the program.
Thank you. I’m so glad to be on.
What can we help you with?
Okay, my question involves the phrase, shake a stick at.
And it started when I was at work a while ago,
And a co-worker of mine, we were by the break room area,
And there was a ton of coffee cups piled up in the sink.
And my co-worker said,
Well, that’s more coffee cups than you could shake a stick at.
And we started talking about what a weird expression that is.
I mean, why would a large quantity of something render you unable to shake a stick at it?
I mean, I’ve grown up saying that, and I actually have relatives in Oklahoma
Who would say it’s more than you could wag a stick at.
Aha! Interesting.
Where does that come from?
Here’s the strongest theory that I know, and I think Martha probably agrees with this,
That it has to do with counting.
Just imagine this scenario, if you will.
It’s evening, the herdsman is bringing in his cattle or bringing in his sheep.
He’s got the dogs behind them to chase them in.
He’s got them coming down a chute one by one, one after the other so he can count them.
And he’s got his walking stick or his prod or his birch switch or whatever in his hand.
And as they’re coming through the fence, he’s tapping them or pointing at them one by one to count them
To make sure that none have been left behind, none have been rustled, what have you.
And so it literally has to do with that act that you’ll find yourself doing this now that you’ve heard us talk about it.
You will find yourself wagging your hand or your finger or your head at lots of things as you count them.
So you are literally wagging or shaking or poking your stick at something as you count it.
So it’s about inventory.
Yeah, more or less.
Okay, okay.
If it’s too many to count, it’s too many to shake or wag a stick at.
Yeah, your arm would get tired.
But it’s a lot easier to count.
If you develop that natural rhythm, it is a lot easier to count.
Try it sometime.
Just pick something of a large quantity and try to count without moving your head or your hand.
And it’s really difficult.
The body makes it easier if the body’s involved in the counting.
Yeah, so there’s something to do when you’re standing in the line at the DMV.
There’s a lot of coffee cups piled in the sink.
I’ll stand there with my hands behind my back.
Yeah, exactly.
They’ll be waiting for you to wash them, right?
So I don’t know why it’s not wag a finger at or poke a finger at, you know, or shake a finger at, right?
Because it would make more sense.
You’re more likely to have a finger and count than you are a stick to count.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, that is very interesting.
That makes sense, though.
Yeah.
I always thought that was the most bizarre expression ever, and I kind of blamed my relatives in Oklahoma
And thought, well, that’s just sort of a weird Oklahoma thing.
Well, thanks, Oklahoma.
I mean, my whole mother’s family is there.
But, yeah, but that actually sounds very sensible.
Aren’t we so disconnected from our past sometimes?
It’s always nice to draw that conclusion when it kind of makes a little more sense when you think about the way that we all used to be a little more agrarian, right?
Yeah, yeah.
So does that mean—
Well, thank you very much.
That was a great deal of help.
Raj, thank you so much for giving us a call today.
Oh, thank you.
I love your show.
Thank you.
Thanks for calling.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Okay, bye-bye.
That’s right.
When in doubt, just talk etymology.
If there’s a job to be done, just get distracted by the origin of the word.
That’s my technique.
You know, you can count and wash at the same time.
I guess that’s true.
I didn’t think about that.
The workplace, the home life, we often come across phrases at work and at home
Where just for a moment we stop and go, huh, I wonder about that.
Well, this is the place to hang on to those haws and let them out.
Or bring your haws to words@waywordradio.org.
