Culture Writer Abi Kinsella reviews Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics by Dr Gareth Carrol, Senior Lecturer in Psycholinguistics at the University, naming it ‘144 pages of gold dust for the linguistically curious’
If you’ve ever felt compelled to bite the bullet, break new ground, get the party started and take a foray into the world of linguistics – I’d like to suggest Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics as a place to begin. Penned by The University of Birmingham’s very own Gareth Carrol, this concise volume is an accessible, snappy, deeply enjoyable exploration of the world of idioms. Not, however, idioms of the Shakespearean, ‘crocodile tears’ and ‘green eyed monster of jealously’ variety. Instead, Carrol examines modern idioms, harvested from the worlds of film, television, the internet, sport, modern literature, and contemporary miscellany.
About as high an accolade as a book can be given, I finished it in one sitting. My housemate was also in the room at the time, and heard the phrase, ‘Wow, I didn’t know (X idiom) came from (X source)!’ so often that she probably wanted to tear the book from my hands and hit me with it. ‘Bucket list’ only having been around since the 2007 film of the same name was one which really surprised me. I believe I may have said ‘I thought I’d HAD a bucket list since before 2007!,’ but then I realised that I would have been five years old, so perhaps not. Both the extensive reference list and the sharp writing style indicate that I can probably trust Carrol on that.
Another origin which surprised me was the titular ‘jump the shark’ (as the book says, ‘To go beyond the realms of credibility; the point at which something stretches plausibility to breaking point’). I have this heard used countless times in the context of politics – especially over the last few years when the lines of credibility have become decidedly blurred. I had no idea, however, about its television-specific origins. In fact, I had come up with my own phrase for when television shows lose the plot – ‘Armin Tamzarian-ing,’ referring to the episode of the Simpsons where Seymour Skinner is revealed to be an imposter – the moment when the show really jumped the shark for me. I used ‘jump the shark’ in domains far from its origin, without for a second questioning the context which brought about its idiomatic meaning.
This was one of my favourite parts of the experience of reading Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics. The ‘why on Earth have I never questioned why I say that before?’ I realised that devoid of context, I’d invented (vaguely logical, if you’re being generous) etymologies for the phrases. I didn’t know, for example that ‘sliding doors moment’ (‘a pivotal moment where a decision could lead to an entirely different course of events’) refers to a film. I had subconsciously decided, therefore, that the phrase derives its meaning from the metaphorical sliding closed of a door, cutting off all other options. The reading experience offered me self-reflection on the workings of my brain when trying to work out the meanings of figurative language.
My other favourite part about reading this book was that it reminded me what made me fall in love with the field of linguistics. I have a different answer almost every time somebody asks me what made me want to study linguistics, but one I always go back to is the lack of snobbery: no data is too lowbrow, no source material too unintellectual. Examples here are taken from Reddit forums and YouTube comment sections, comedy films and football punditry. All are treated with the same reverence, and reveal a fascination with the communication habits of human beings – delightful to see reflected.
The book is arranged into seven sections, named for the domains that the subsequent set of idioms is taken from. Those sections are sub-divided into short chapters (most between a page and two pages long). This makes for an unintimidating read, perfect (I’d imagine – like I said, I devoured it in one sitting) for dipping in and out of. It is light on linguistic terminology and masterfully weaves trivia and pop-culture references into the language explorations.
Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics is 144 pages of gold dust for the linguistically curious, equally suitable for those who simply ponder the correct term for a bread roll (cob, thank you) and those who have the pleasure of knowing what the future progressive perfect tense is. It’d be right at home on any coffee table for Sunday afternoon pondering, and is certain to inspire much fervent googling over the following few days of any other idioms that you happen to think of.
Rating: 5/5
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