We take a look at the films that introduced new phrases to the dictionary – there are more than you might think…
This article first appeared in Film Stories issue 44 in July 2023
Many of us have had what can only be described as a ‘sliding doors’ moment. Something seemingly insignificant happens, but, on reflection, that small occurrence has changed the course of our lives in some way. When we refer to those ‘sliding doors’, we are of course recalling Gwyneth Paltrow’s 1998 film of the same name. In the movie, Paltrow stars as Helen Quilley who works in PR before she gets fired. Leaving the office early, she misses the train home in one version of the story, but catches the train in the other. The film splits in two and follows both Helens – the one who missed, and the one who caught the train – navigating her new life, new job, new outlook, each altered by the moment the train doors closed.
Another film title that may have become part of our vernacular is Groundhog Day. The motion picture tells the story of cynical weatherman Phil Connors played by Bill Murray, who travels to the sleepy town of Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania with his producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) to see if the groundhog will predict an early spring. However, Phil Connors has to live and relive this day over and over, like a torturous déjà vu. What’s more, he is the only one who knows that every day is ‘Groundhog Day’ as everyone around him is thrilled to go and visit the groundhog as though for the first time. The film has sparked much discussion as to how long Phil Connors is stuck in Punxsutawney. Based on how he spends his time and the hobbies he picks up (from ice sculpting and playing the piano to mastering the French language in order to read French poetry), some suggest he might be trapped there for hundreds of years, while others estimate it might be closer to 33 years.
We could say that Phil Connors had the opportunity to fulfil his bucket list while in Punxsutawney, although the phrase ‘bucket list’ didn’t really enter our consciousness until The Bucket List was released in 2007. It stars Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson as two men who form a close friendship and set upon making their dreams come true before it’s too late.
Sometimes, it’s characters’ names from films that find their way into our dictionaries. Have you ever wondered where the word ‘paparazzi’ came from? In the 1960 film La Dolce Vita, Marcello Rubini, a journalist travelling through Rome trying to find la dolce vita (‘the good life’) makes friends with a photographer called Paparazzo. Together they chase stories, go to nightclubs and create drama in their shadows. Federico Fellini, the director, is credited with coining the term ‘paparazzi’ which stems from the photographer Paparazzo in his famed film.
Red flags
If we warn a friend against a ‘bunny-boiler’, we’re bringing Glenn Close’s memorable performance in Fatal Attraction to mind. Glenn Close stars as Alex Forrest, who has an affair with Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas), a married man with a young child who has a pet rabbit.
Dan thinks the liaison is a one-off fling, but Alex doesn’t want their affair to end. She becomes obsessive and acts irrationally, with Dan’s daughter’s rabbit on the receiving end of her wrath. The term ‘bunny-boiler’ became synonymous with Alex’s dangerous behaviour, although, as the Oxford English Dictionary rightly points out online, the phrase ‘bunny-boiler’ was never actually used in the film.
It might be a surprise to learn that the psychological manipulation known as ‘gaslighting’ – to trick someone into questioning their own sanity – owes its origin to Gaslight, made in 1944 and starring Ingrid Bergman. It tells the story of an opera singer whose aunt was murdered at her home many years ago. When she marries Gregory after a quick romance in Italy, she and her husband (Charles Boyer) move into said aunt’s house whereupon his mood swiftly changes and he becomes extremely aggressive – particularly when his wife finds a letter from a man called Sergis Bauer. Gregory is impatient and gets cross when she forgets things he has supposedly told her, which makes her worry about her mind. She gets very distressed when she notices that the gaslights appear to dim when Gregory is out (hence the term ‘to gaslight’), and she continues to grapple with her own sanity.
Descriptive
George Harrison is thought to be the first person to utter the word ‘grotty’. In A Hard Day’s Night, George is mistaken for a fashion model who’s shown some shirts made for teenagers, and Simon Marshall – an advertising executive – is keen to hear George’s thoughts. George expresses a strong dislike of the apparel by saying that the shirts are ‘grotty’, which he goes on to explain is short for grotesque. The response he receives is ironic: “Make a note of that word,” Marshall tells his secretary before chastising George for his “valueless opinion”. We must thank the film’s screenwriter Alun Owen for his word creation.
Read more: George Orwell on screen
During one episode of TV game show Countdown, lexicographer Susie Dent described the theatrical (and pleasingly literal) origin of the expression ‘to steal someone’s thunder’. In the early 18th century, playwright John Dennis created a thunder-making machine for a play that closed early. However, he saw another play at the same theatre and was shocked to discover that they were using his thunder machine without his permission. He was reported to have remarked: “Damn them, they will not let my play run, but they steal my thunder!”
Many films have enriched our vocabularies. Where would we be without the expression ‘You’re toast’ (courtesy of a bit of improv by Bill Murray) from Ghostbusters? Or ‘bombshell’ (as in a blonde bombshell) which emerged from the 1933 film of the same name starring Jean Harlow? Listening out for new words and phrases to roll out into real life is just another fun dimension of film viewing.
