Author Archives: Andrea

Musical Idiom

Nationality: American
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
Residence: Arlington, VA
Performance Date: March 2, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Some spanish

“Break a reed!”

Ava told me that she has heard this idiom spoken several times over the course of a few years. It is said by one oboe player to another during music auditions. One player will say it to another before they go into the audition room.

 “Breaking reeds is never good. they can break just by change in temperature, tonguing to hard on slightly the wrong corner, snap when you try to open the tip of the reed(or reed in general, to allow more air to move through it; usually cracks here because it’s dry or just bent too far). Oh, and you can smash it somewhere. people say it when the runner comes in and announces something like for ex: “Oboe #4?”, calling them to follow them to the audition room, and the oboist expresses grief/anxiety, or they may say it just because they know that person or wanna be friendly or whatevs. Heard it at allstate auditions. I don’t know about others. Oboe, because it’s so thin. The single reeds are never temperamental because they’re thicker, that’s why you never really hear single reed players complain about reed issues, only oboe, and occasionally bassoons, but again, their reeds aren’t nearly as bad because they are thick and won’t snap if you poke them the wrong way.”

The idiom is taken from the popular, “break a leg,” said to an actor right before they ascend the stage. The idea of breaking a leg right before a performance is an actor’s worst nightmare, effectively removing the actor from the performance. Hence, telling someone to “break a leg,” is a sort of protection against it actually happening, and is often used in jest.

Similarly, “break a reed,” is told to an oboist before they audition. A music audition is often a nerve wracking experience, and any additional stress is unwelcome. For musicians who play reed instruments, especially double reed instruments such as the oboe, the reed of the instrument can be extremely temperamental. Double reeds consist of two pieces of wood cane wrapped together. The reeds are expensive and difficult to make. If not made properly they are prone to producing a bad sound or even breaking. This is not something a musician wants to happen right before an audition.

Jewish Tradition

Nationality: Scottish-American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles and Oak Park, CA
Performance Date: April 20, 2011
Primary Language: English

HM   “Every year my parents, they open the door to, um, let Elijah the spirit into the house. And, it’s part of the Passover, Seder and the whole ceremony. And what’s supposed to happen is, um, Elijah comes in and the spirit drinks, um, a cup of wine that’s laid out for them. And traditionally, the youngest child in the room would open the door for Elijah and while the doors open one of the parents or people there would drink the cup really quickly while the persona distracted opening the door. So, uh, this year I got to be the person to drink the wine cause I was, just happened to, Passover was yesterday, it was very recent. Anyway, its’ fresh in my head because of that, uh. We do do the ceremony every year, um, uh, actually I can’t even remember what he represents exactly, but, I, I just remember every year it’s very important to make sure you fool the youngest person there into thinking that he actually drinks the wine, which I guess is kind of like fooling people almost like in Christianity with Santa Claus, like believing that he really comes and brings the presents, like he really comes and drinks the wine.

AO(interviewer)   “They do it for older, even if you’re the youngest and your 22, and you’re like, “I know””

HM    “I mean, were aware of it of course but, yeah”

AO   “So it’s apart of like, this tradition”

HM    “And that’s very common in a lot of families, it not just mine that does that.”

AO    “So is it more for fun? Or is it taken seriously? Does it depend on the family?”

HM   “Yeah, it’s taken seriously in a lot of families actually. Um, I mean, obviously as soon as you get old enough, you realize what’s going on but, you know, while your younger it’s like a, fun little joke to play on them.”

I agree with HM that this tradition can be taken seriously, yet at the same time be used to pull a prank on young children.  Even if the youngest child is old enough to know it is a ruse, they still go along with it, because the joke is also part of the tradition.  The passover story is full of miraculous events, such as the Moses encounter with God through the burning bush, the ten plagues and Moses parting the Red sea.  This joke helps keep the magical aspects of the story alive.

Native American super natural power

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pittsburgh, PA
Performance Date: April 19, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: some spanish

Tyson   “It was during spring break, during high school I think and we used to go to Arizona to visit our friends there, except the spring breaks don’t line up. So, we don’t do that anymore. But last summer we did go and uh, usually we go to Tucson, but this time we went up to this place called Show Low. It’s more northern in Arizona and it’s in the mountains so it’s cooler, there’s like pine trees and stuff. And um, are friend, our two friends who live there, one of them is the is the, one of them was getting really old and um, er, she has problems with Parkinson’s disease and um, so um, like the two friends, the one who was still healthy brought in a helper, who is this native American woman, who has like, three kids and like, was really fun to talk to and she was pretty young too. Um, it was really interesting talking to her. One thing she told us was that like, apparently like, she, what she said was that the people of the white mountains, which is like what it’s called I think, have like, a higher proclivity toward having mystical powers or like mystical insight into like, spirits and stuff or something. And she was saying how like, she was walking in like the mountains of something, when she was a little girl and she like, saw some vision or something.  I don’t know, it was pretty interesting to hear her talk about it. And how like, uh, I don’t know, there’s history in the mountains or something.”

AO(interviewer)  “Do you know, like, what kind of vision she had?”

Tyson    “I’m trying to remember what she said. She talked about it for awhile. It was about, like. It mighta had to do with, it might have had to have done with like, a death in the family or something. But I’m not entirely sure, maybe a grandparent or some cousin or something was dying and she like, said that she knew it. I don’t quite remember. She said it was really scary.”

AO   “So like, they go up to the mountains, and they like can sense things from there or just by living in the mountains they can…”

Tyson   “Well it’s like, she said it’s, the mountain people as opposed to the people from the plains. Cause there’s like the different Indian tribes that are from the plains down below where its desert but then she said like, the people in the mountains are different.”

AO  “I see, is she from the mountains?”

Tyson   “Yep she’s from the mountains. I think it’s near an Indian reservation. Whether it is or not, there’s a lot of indigenous, there’s a lot of Native Americans in this area. It’s interesting because there’s like different, people who are descended from different tribes. Like I think there was some Navaho, maybe. That might be wrong, I don’t remember but, I get the names confused. There was two different ones, and she was telling us how like, they fight within themselves. It’s almost like gangs.”

I was able to discover through some research that the Tyson was talking about the White Mountain Apaches of Arizona.  Despite being a subtribe of the western Apache and having influences from the Navajo, there is a much greater emphasis on the individual and autonomy in White Mountain Apache culture.  This is in contrast to other neighboring Native American cultures.  Because of this, the super natural powers the Apache possess are often neutral in nature, and can be used on the individual nature.  By neutral, I mean the power is not used to see or act upon forces of good or evil.  This is evident in the narrative Tyson descibed; the woman claims she experienced a visionary moment in youth in which she forsaw a relatives death.  While this is not a particulary happy vision to have, it is a personal one, as opposed to some large scale disaster. 

Additionally, this difference between the culture of the White Mountain Apache and their neighbors might help instill the fighting that Tyson said the Apache woman told him about.  Every culture has their own way of life, set of values.  It is important to the White Mountain Apache that they have visions of this type, while other Native American tribes nearby do not. They are able to set themeselves apart and keep their identities alive.

Occupational Proverb

Nationality: Slovenian-American
Age: 53
Occupation: Self Employed
Residence: Arlington, VA
Performance Date: March, 17, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: French, Serbo-Croation, Slovenian, Spanish

“A good agent doesn’t get wet and doesn’t go hungry”

Maria is a former employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington D.C. This was a common saying in her office when she worked there. All the agents said it, and it was passed down. She personally heard it from her training agent.

She told me that FBI agents work a lot, sometimes almost twenty four hours in a row, often on mentally grueling crimes. Because of all the work, this phrase is quoted often to remind the agents that even though the work they do it difficult and tiresome, a person also has to take care of themselves. An agent should not overlook basic necessities, such as food when hungry or an umbrella when raining.  By getting in the habit of taking care of oneself, the agent is able to perform better.

I think it is easy to see how such a phrase is so common in this particular job.  An FBI agents work is tough, and the consequences of any mishaps can be devastating.  It makes sense to stress the importance of personal care, so that it does not get in the way of an agents work.

Folk Metaphor

Nationality: Mexicaan-American
Age: 49
Occupation: Government employee
Residence: Arlington, VA
Performance Date: April 6, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“She spends like a drunken sailor”

SO said this to me while we were discussing family financial situations. He was talking about how his wife tends to spend extravagantly with little thought and said that, “she spends like a drunken sailor.”

He did not remember first hearing this metaphor from any one person, but claims that it is said often enough that he has picked it up. He believes that the idea of spending “like a drunken sailor,” stems from a particularly bad aspect of sailor behavior. He explained that sailors are often out at sea for long periods of time, cooped up on a small boat without a lot of communication or luxury items. When they land in port, there is a general belief from the public that these sailors will go a bit crazy with all the freedom they suddenly have. These sailors will take advantage of their access to alcohol, food and women, spending all their money on a few days of extravagance.

The use of this particular metaphor reveals the variation that is common in telling folklore. SO was referring specifically to his wife and her spending habits, consequently, he said, “she spends like a drunken sailor.” However, other words could be put into the place of “she” in order to say that he, they, you, or a specific name, “spends like a drunken sailor.” The phrase can be modified easily to fit a wide range of people and situations.