In Chapter 8, Miss Maudie's house catches on fire in the middle of the night, and Atticus tells Jem and Scout to stand in the Radleys' yard while he and the other neighbors attempt to save Maudie's furniture. While they are standing in the yard, Boo Radley silently approaches Scout and puts his blanket over her shoulder without her knowing. The next morning, Atticus asks Scout who gave her the blanket. Both Scout and Jem are perplexed. Atticus then tells them that Boo Radley was the person who covered Scout with his blanket. Scout says she almost threw up out of fear, and Jem promises his father that he won't attempt to bother Boo anymore. After learning that Boo tried comforting Scout, Jem realizes that Boo Radley is not a threat. Jem finally understands that Boo is not the "malevolent phantom," and believes Boo was responsible for sewing his pants the night of the raid.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Comments
Post a Comment