Chrysti The Wordsmith: In Cold Blood

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. In 1066. American author Truman Capote published his nonfiction novel in cold blood a sensational account of the 1959 slaying of a Kansas farm family by two paroled robbers. The title of Kaposi's work suggests that the intruders murdered the family members deliberately and with little remorse in cold blood was a cliche centuries before Kaposi's work was published. The Oxford English dictionaries historical database cites the phrase in use from 16 0 8. This expression reflects an old belief that blood is the seat of the emotion within the body. According to this notion blood literally runs hot through the veins of a person in the throes of passion and anger. But cold is the blood of someone calm and detached. Here's how the Oxford English dictionary explains the phrase in cold blood. Quote a phrase of the older physiology from the sensations felt in the face and head when the circulation is quickened by exertion or excitement. The blood itself was supposed to grow hot

or boil. At other times to be cold or not sensibly hot. Hence the phrase in cold blood meaning coolly without excitement not in a passion. In this view a deliberate and resolute person would execute a deed literally in cold blood. The expression has become a standard linguistic formula for describing the actions of a calculating murder. I'm Christi the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman. 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 Web dot com.