Chrysti The Wordsmith: Bat Expressions - 3

The Montana State University in Bozeman it fam. This is Christie the wordsmith. Last time on the series we investigated bats in the belfry a phrase we reserve to describe someone considered eccentric or crazy. This quaint animal expression likens the human head to a belfry or a church's bell tower the towers resident bats that flutter and careen about their home are metaphors for the thoughts of an unstable unfocused mind. Bats in the belfry today will look at the well-worn phrase blind as a bat. This cliche derives from the longstanding assumption that bats literally cannot see the creature's erratic nocturnal fluttering Zz have doubtless contributed to this belief over the centuries. Well no bat species is entirely sightless. Some rely on echolocation the emission of ultra high frequency sound pulses that bounce off an object and return as echoes with the strategy bats are able to locate and capture their insect prey in mid-flight. Others do in fact

rely on vision and a sense of smell to navigate despite the modern understanding of the bats. Sophisticated navigation techniques the expression blind as a bat persists wherever English is spoken. It was first captured in print in 15 88 by English author John Harvey making the simile blind as a bat. At least 400 years old. From Montana State University and I'm Christie the wordsmith. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry sued web dot com.