Phrase Origins: Woe Betide You
Surprisingly, I am close to the meaning of the phrase "woe betide you." It is said to be a prediction that a person may suffer misfortune after bad behavior.
The earliest version of the phrase was "woe betide me." This comes from the 1393 poem The vision of William concerning Piers Plowman by William Langland. The poem is written in the common tongue of Middle English. It says, "Er ich wedde suche a wif• wo me by-tyde." This means, "If I should marry such a wife, woe betide me."
While I guessed the meaning of the phrase well, I did not guess the meaning of it by correctly identifying how the words were used. Tide is not the same as in tidings, but means the same as "time" or "a period of time." This is like mentioning the tides of the sea. The sea is a certain way for a period of time.
It is true that tide comes from the nautical world. However, being that the waters were in certain way for a period of time, sometimes people would substitute the word "tide" for the word "time." Saying "woe betide you" was like saying "woe betime you." This would mean "woe be with you for a period of time."
Other phrase that use the word "tide" are "time and tide wait for no man" and "tide over."
Source:
Martin, G. (n.d.). Woe betide you. The meanings and origins of sayings and phrases . Retrieved April 27, 2011, from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/woe-betide-you.html
Published by Bridget Ilene Delaney
Bridget Ilene Delaney is the author of "This is My Bucket." She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. She writes many articles on a variety of other subjects. She is interested in diabetes compli... View profile
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Post a CommentWords are magic works of the mind - my own quote 5-3-11
thanks again!