Chrysti The Wordsmith: Katy Bar the Door

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. Have you ever heard the expression Katy bar the door and wondered where it came from. People use it to mean get ready for trouble or watch out something bad is about to happen. This phrase is an example of a firmly established American idiom with an uncertain origin. But most word watchers prefer the following story. The development of the expression may lie in a poem by Gabriel Dante Rosetta called the King's tragedy written in 1881 which chronicles the fourteen thirty seven assassination of Scotland's King James the First. The verses tell the story of King James's traitorous Chamberlain who removed the security bar of the royal bedroom door to clear the way for would be murders. The queen hearing the assassins enter their chamber calls to her lady in waiting. Catherine Douglas to prevent the trespass. Catherine keep the door cries the Queen and the lady attempts to block the open doorway with her arm. The assassins brutally shove

Catherine out of the way breaking the valiant lady's arm. They then find the king and take his life. It's been suggested that Gabriel Dante Rosie's poetic line Katharine keep the door which commemorates the lady's brave deed may have inspired the more popular expression Katy bar the door a warning of imminent danger or trouble. I'm Christie the wordsmith. Good day for Bourse Christie the wordsmith a 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.