over

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

for under. In these expressions, 'He wrote over the signature of Junius;' 'He published some papers over his own signature.' A few of our writers still countenance this unwarrantable innovation; but the principle, on which it is defended, would unsettle the whole language. The use of the word under, in phrases like those above mentioned, is as well established as any English idiom.--Pickering. Mr. Hoffman, in reply to a correspondent, says:


Had our friend U., of Philadelphia, duly meditated this matter, be never would have sent us a letter with such an unpoetical expression in it as the very common blunder of "over the signature"--for the metaphorical phrase originally derived from the ensign of the soldier, the device of the knight, the armorial bearing of the baron, the totem, if you please, of the Indian sachem, under which he presents himself to the world. U., as a lawyer, must it least be more or less familiar with the phrase, "given under my hand and seal," as a true English idiom, albeit the hand and seal (which in this instance constitute "the signature") are placed at the bottom of the document. We do not talk of a vessel sailing "over" the flag of the United States, when her ensigns are sent below at sunset!--N. Y. Lit. World.

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

← outsider   ×   over-careful →

Related Words