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Hyperbole
Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Part 3
Explanation and Analysis—A Looloo:
George and Whit, a young ranch hand, play cards and discuss Curly’s wife. In their conversation, they use a number of idioms that reflect their rural, Western dialect in the early 20th century:
George dealt and Whit picked up his cards and examined them. “Seen the new kid yet?” he asked.
“What kid?” George asked.
“Why, Curley’s new wife.”
“Yeah, I seen her.”
“Well, ain’t she a looloo?”
“I ain’t seen that much of her,” said George.
Whit laid down his cards impressively. “Well, stick around an’ keep your eyes open. You’ll see plenty. She ain’t concealin’ nothing. I never seen nobody like her. She got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck the eye. I don’t know what the hell she wants.”
Whit describes Curly’s wife as a “looloo,” an old-fashioned slang term which means an attractive woman who dresses provocatively. His use of this slang term here reflects the generally misogynistic views of the laborers on the ranch, who regard women with distrust.
George attempts to shift the conversation to a new topic, but Whit continues, noting that she “got the eye goin’ all the time” on everybody. Here, he uses another idiom specific to the historical setting of the novella, one that suggests that she is attempting to catch the attention of, or seduce, the men on the ranch. He then adds that she “even gives the stable buck the eye,” a point which surprises Whit because Crooks, the stable hand, is Black—and Whit clearly assumes that a white woman wouldn't be interested in a Black man. These idioms and the dialect of the ranch workers embeds the story in its historical and cultural context.
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Part 4
Explanation and Analysis—The Booby Hatch:
When Lennie goes to the barn to pet the puppies, he encounters Crooks, who lives in the barn as a result of racial segregation on the ranch. Crooks permits Lennie to join him in the barn with reluctance, and after speaking about his own background for a bit, he begins to taunt Lennie. In this conversation, Crooks uses the idiom “booby hatch” (or insane asylum), reflecting the poor treatment of the mentally ill in early 20th century America. After Crooks asks Lennie what will happen to him if George does not return, Steinbeck writes:
Lennie struggled to understand. "George won't do nothing like that," he repeated." George is careful. He won't get hurt. He ain't never been hurt, 'cause he's careful."
"Well, s'pose, jus' s'pose he don't come back. What'll you do then?"
Lennie's face wrinkled with apprehension. "I don' know. Say, what you doin' anyways?" he cried. "This ain't true. George ain't got hurt."
Crooks bored in on him. "Want me to tell ya what'll happen? They'll take ya to the booby hatch. They'll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog."
Here, Crooks seems to take a certain pleasure in tormenting Lennie, who struggles to understand the hypothetical situation posed to him and even begins to think that Crooks is threatening George. After Lennie insists that George would never abandon him or become incapacitated, Crooks insists that, without George’s aid, the others would take Lennie “to the booby hatch,” where they would tie him up “with a collar, like a dog.” Here, Crooks uses an antiquated slang term or idiom that reflects his understanding of the mental asylum as an awful place where people are treated in a dehumanizing manner.
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Part 6
Explanation and Analysis—The Fat of the Land :
At various points in the novella when George and Lennie talk about their plans for the future, Lennie uses an idiom, “the fat of the land,” which is itself an allusion to the Bible. In the final scene of the story, for example, when George comforts Lennie by talking about their future dreams despite knowing that he must kill Lennie to spare him from the mob, Lennie again repeats this idiom:
“Go on,” said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.”
“We’ll have a cow,” said George. “An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens . . . an’ down the flat we’ll have a . . . little piece alfalfa——”
“For the rabbits,” Lennie shouted.
“For the rabbits,” George repeated.
“And I get to tend the rabbits.”
“An’ you get to tend the rabbits.”
Lennie giggled with happiness. “An’ live on the fatta the lan’.”
“Yes.” Lennie turned his head.
This idiom, “the fat of the land,” means to have the very best that life can offer. This idiom stems from a phrase used in the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. In the Biblical story, the Egyptian Pharaoh uses this phrase in offering some of the finest land in the nation to Joseph, a trusted advisor. Here, Lennie’s allusion to this Biblical phrase, which had entered into common English as an idiom, suggests that he dreams of living a life of prosperity without struggle or toil.
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