April 16, 2008

*Ask Jen: In a Nutshell

Since no one will e-mail a question for me, I am forced to pull my "Ask Jen" questions from other sources.

SarahK posted, "That, in a nutshell, is why you are only just now getting Idol. If you want the whole nut (what *does* 'in a nutshell' mean, anyway? Jennifer, please explain.), here it is."

To which I responded via comment: Apparently Pliny (Elder) mentioned in his writings a copy of the Iliad that was so small it fit into a nutshell…it was a condensed version, so “in a nutshell” came to be used to mean “the condensed version.”

Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't know the answer, I might make something up.

Posted by Jennifer at April 16, 2008 09:00 AM | TrackBack

Comments

There's one on the way!

Posted by: Jim at April 16, 2008 04:49 AM

Hey, I was sure I commented on this. Anyway, I got to tell Frank the history of "in a nutshell" yesterday. I don't remember what he was talking about, but he said something about "in a nutshell." So of course, I paused the TV and said, "Do you know where that phrase comes from? See, Pliny... um... the Younger? Elder? Well, one of the Plinys..."

Anyway, thanks for this.

Posted by: sarahk at April 20, 2008 10:30 PM


Jew