Birth of a Phrase

As I rode the bus in to work this morning, I witnessed a rare and privileged event: the inauguration of a phrase. It may well come into general use, if it proves useful.

The bus driver was talking with two riders, one sitting close to him, and one farther back. They were arguing over the proper way to use the common phrase "out of pocket." We all understand that refers to an expense which must be satisfied with the funds on hand. The point of disagreement was whether or not to say "out of the pocket" instead, which suggests an entirely different kind of phrase, related to older expressions like "off the wall."

I'm not entirely sure how the whole thing started, because I walked in right in the middle of it, but I was fascinated by where it was going. I'm pretty sure the next time I feel compelled to classify a person or something they do as surprising, unexpected or peculiar, I will knowingly refer to them or what they are doing as out of the pocket.

It makes sense, it's new, and it really doesn't require much translation.

Since the driver and those he was talking to or arguing with were using nonstandard English, they were practicing with the phrase with sentences like "You out of the pocket," and "You so out of the pocket."

As new riders boarded, he quizzed them on their own usage as they paused to pay the fare.

Those I saw respond told him that the customary usage was "out of the pocket," a usage I consider something of a malapropism, similar to the way people say "for all intensive purposes" when they mean "for all intents and purposes." The misunderstanding is rooted in the way people frequently mishear and then misrepeat the original phrase, apparently without considering what it actually means.

This is how language grows, rather than through councils of learned linguists who propose and vet new words or phrases. I'm sure there are English teachers who would prefer such a system, but language has never worked that way, and the minute it did, it would die, like Latin.

So it was kind of exciting to witness the event. I'm not sure whether they had heard the new version somewhere, or accidentally stumbled upon it because of a misunderstanding, but it doesn't make much difference. As soon as the value of the phrase is understood, it will come into use. If it gets into a song lyric or some kind of written work, it will quickly take root and spread throughout the English-speaking world, if past experience is any guide.

I considered joining in the exchange of views between the driver and the riders, but such an action would have been out of the pocket, so I just sat there and listened.