Where did that phrase come from ?
2007-01-15 02:44:17 · 7 answers · asked by Skeeter 5 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
"Catch a cold" is an idiom, which probably originated as a metaphorical extension of the literal word catch. You catch a ball or some other object that somebody throws to you; the metaphorical extension is that you catch the germs that somebody else exposes you to. Over time, it has become a fixed idiomatic expression, and we don't even think of it as metaphor.
2007-01-15 03:04:39 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is funny, isn't it, that if you ask people how they're doing, they reply, "I'm trying to catch a cold!" WHAT?????? Standard answer in the Southern U.S.
I think that is a ridiculous statement. I always reply, "I'm trying to fight off a cold."
My mother used to reply, "I'm trying to get sick!" Don't people even listen to themselves talk? I noticed that strange answer when I was 9 and asked my mom about it. She said it was just an expression and still says that to this day. She is now 90 and when I ask her how she's doing, she says consistantly, "OH! I'm trying to get sick again." I reply, "Don't do that mom!" To which mom always replies, "Thank you dear." Its a strange expression even to those of us who were raised with it from childhood.
I don' t know where those sorts of comments came from...the South when people gathered lots of sympathy for their illnesses? Maybe my grandparents thought superstitiously that if the "illness" thought you wanted to get it, it would leave you alone. I'll never figure it out. Where did you first hear this strange expression?
I'm glad to see someone is listening and not just running their mouth.
2007-01-15 11:01:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
well the actual "catch" bit probably comes from the fact tht a cold is a viral infection that is contagious and can be transferred from person 2 person...and some1 would actually want to catch a cold to be let off uni/work/school...whatever!
2007-01-15 10:54:23 · answer #3 · answered by ~*~*lil_angel*~*~ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes the Chippewa women would suck the snot out of their babies noses with their mouth as a way to catch the babies cold and then put out antibodies in their milk. For the child.
2007-01-15 10:49:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't think anyone wants to 'catch' a cold!!
hell not with me!but 4 some they make it a reason not going to school...a really stupid thing 2 do!
how it originates...dunno!=)
2007-01-15 10:51:00 · answer #5 · answered by -Baboushckha- 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To stay home and not working
2007-01-15 10:47:16 · answer #6 · answered by White Shooting Star of HK 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont now
2007-01-15 10:47:19 · answer #7 · answered by kate j 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋