Get the hang of
can anyone throw any light on the origin of this phrase? Lots of people can tell me what it means (thanks awfully, to all of them) --- but none have so far explained where the phrase comes from (this...
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Excerpt from OED2: 3. to get the hang of: to become familiar with the proper wielding or use of a tool; fig. to get to understand, manage, master, deal with as an adept; to acquire the knack of....
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Possibly related to this sense:2. The mode in which a thing hangs or is poised;...a1797 M. WOLLSTONECRAFT Posth. Wks. (1798) IV. 121 Death could not alter the rigid hang of her limbs. 1864 WEBSTER...
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Thanks Ozzie, thanks Dr. T., for the quotes. The allusions to a scythe and to a weapon made everything clear --- and reminded me that "hanger" once meant some sort of sword; and indeed, Webster (1828,...
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Excerpt from OED2: d. Of persons, etc.: relaxed or easy, calm; uninhibited. Esp. predic. (quasi-adv.) in phr. to hang (or stay) loose. slang (orig. U.S.). 1968 R. Coover Universal Baseball Assoc....
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