• foil (n.): a person or thing which gives contrast to another. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

• foil (n.): one which stands in contrast to and emphasises the distinctive characteristics of another; [e.g.]: “I am resolved my husband shall not be a rival, but a foil to me”. (Charlotte Brontë). ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• foil (n.): a person or thing which makes another seem better by contrast. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary).

• foil (n.): contrast, background, antithesis; setting, relief, complement; [e.g.]: “A cold beer is the perfect foil for a curry”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus).

Beg the Question:

• bite the dust (common): 1. if something bites the dust, it fails or stops existing; [e.g.]: “With the news that milk chocolate can help cut cholesterol, yet another healthy eating fad bites the dust”; “Quite a few restaurants have bitten the dust recently”; 2. if someone bites the dust, they die; [e.g.]: “A Wild West showman nearly bit the dust when he blew himself up making blank bullets in his garden shed”. [note: this expression is used to refer to someone’s death in a humorous way; in stories about the Wild West, cowboys were said to “bite the dust” when they were shot and fell off their horses]. ~ (Collins Co-Build Idioms Dictionary).

• bite the dust (slang): 1. of a person, to die; [e.g.]: “We were so lucky to avoid that massive accident—we might have bitten the dust!”; 2. of a machine, to be near a complete breakdown or loss of functionality; [e.g.]: “Judging by all that noise coming from her car, I’m pretty sure it’s about to bite the dust”; “I have to go buy a new blender because mine bit the dust today”; 3. to become unpopular or irrelevant; [e.g.]: “Sadly, it doesn’t take long for the latest technological innovations to bite the dust”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms).

• bite the dust (slang): 1. to die; [e.g.]: “A shot rang out, and another cowboy bit the dust”; “The soldier was too young to bite the dust”; 2. to break; to fail; to give out; [e.g.]: “My old car finally bit the dust”; “This pen is out of ink and has bitten the dust”. ~ (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs).

• bite the dust (informal): 1. be killed; 2. fail. ~ (Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary).

• bite the dust (slang): 1. to die; [e.g.]: “A shot rang out, and another cowboy bit the dust”; 2. to break; to fail; to give out; [e.g.]: “My car finally bit the dust”. ~ (McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions).

• bite the dust (slang): 1. to fall dead, especially in combat; 2. to be defeated; 3. to come to an end. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• bite the dust, to (cliché): to be defeated or killed. The term became popular from American western films, in which cowboys and/or Indians frequently “bit the dust”—that is, were shot or shoved off their horses to the dusty ground. It became current in the late 1930s. However, the term occurs even earlier in William Cullen Bryant’s translation (1870) of Homer’s “Iliad (“his fellow warriors ... fall round him to the earth and bite the dust”) and it also is found in translations of Virgil’s “Aeneid”. ~ (The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer).

The product has not been advertised on television since the 1980s, yet the name has entered into Australian and New Zealand vernacular. It stands for an ersatz or dummy thing, or something which is obviously ineffective. For example, a common-law couple might be described as having a “Claytons marriage”. A knowledgeable but unqualified handyman could be referred to as a “Claytons carpenter”. The term can also be used as an insult.

According to the product label, Claytons was “originally blended and bottled by the Clayton Brothers for the ‘Pure Water Company’, Battersea, London, in the 1880s”. According to 1980s labelling it was “made from African kola nuts and citrus essences”. The product, bottled by Beecham, was taken off the market in New Zealand but continued to be distributed in Australia through Orlando Wines and later Cadbury-Schweppes.

As of 2020 the Claytons brand is still being used by “Armstrong Agencies Ltd” in Barbados, though the product is called “Claytons Kola Tonic”. This particular brand is also available in Australia from vendors such as Woolworths Supermarkets.

The phrase has two different, but related, meanings:

• Same word, different thing: Many regarded Claytons as a poor taste substitute, and the promotional campaign was ridiculed at the time. Subsequently, the term “Claytons” entered the vocabulary of both countries, used as an adjective to signify a compromise which satisfies no-one, or any form of inferior substitute or low-quality imitation, largely synonymous with the word “ersatz”. For example, a hasty or temporary repair may be only a “Claytons solution” to a problem.

• Different word, same thing: Claytons may also refer to something essentially the same but going by a different name. So for instance before an election campaign is officially called there is the “Claytons campaign”: the election campaign you have when you’re not having an election campaign.

The term is primarily used by people old enough to remember the original advertising campaign, but it is still widely used throughout both countries, especially in political debate.

The commercial also generated another catch-phrase which became common in New Zealand and Australia. Before turning to camera at the start of the advertisement, our Claytons-drinking hero (played by Jack Thompson) tells the punch-line of a joke to the barman: “... and then this guy says ‘Now we can all get some sleep!’”

For example, after completing a particularly irksome task—perhaps changing a tyre in the rain, or dropping twelve children off to their respective houses after a noisy birthday party—one can say “Now we can all get some sleep” to put a humorous full stop on the event.

In the original advertisement, set in a bar, this “punchline” was greeted with raucous laughter, followed by the barman saying “What’ll you have?” Jack: “Claytons, thanks, Brian”. Bloke in Bar: “On the wagon, Jack?” Jack. “No. When I don’t feel like alcohol, I have Claytons”. Voice-over: “Claytons. The drink you have when you’re not having a drink”.

Claytons is also the name given to New Zealand’s “Intervarsity Novice Debating Championships” hosted by Canterbury University and Otago University Debating Society. It is referred to as Claytons because it is the “debating tournament you go to when you’re not debating”. ~ (2023 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia).

Corruptio Optima Pessima Est: 

• corruptio optimi pessima est (maxim): corruption of the best becomes the worst. [origin: anonymous; Latin saying, found in English from the early seventeenth century]. ~ (Oxford Essential Quotations).

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

• Interestingly, nobody really knows where the phrase “corruptio optimi pessima est” (‘the worst tragedy is the corruption of the best’) comes from. Some attribute it to Aristotle the Stagirite, 384-322 BCE, but in fact there is no evidence it was used by anybody before Pope Gregory I, 540-604 CE, a.k.a. Saint Gregory the Great, in his 35-book opus “Moralia in Job”, written between 578 and 595 CE.

__________

• [Wikipedia]: “Moralia in Job” (‘Morals in Job’), also called “Moralia, sive Expositio in Job” (‘Morals, or Narration about Job’) or “Magna Moralia” (‘Great Morals’), is a commentary on the Book of Job by Gregory the Great, written between 578 and 595. It was begun when Gregory was at the court of Emperor Tiberius II in Constantinople, but finished only several years after he had returned to Rome. It is Pope Gregory’s major work, filling some 35 books or 6 volumes. Its actual title is ‘An Extensive Consideration of Moral Questions’”.

__________

• “Corruption prevents us from looking to the future with hope, because its tyrannical greed shatters the plans of the weak and tramples upon the poorest of the poor. It is an evil that embeds itself into the actions of everyday life and spreads, causing great public scandal. Corruption is a sinful hardening of the heart that replaces God with the illusion that money is a form of power. It is a work of darkness, fed by suspicion and intrigue. Corruptio optimi pessima, saint Gregory the Great said, with good reason, affirming that no one can think himself immune from this temptation. If we want to drive it out from personal and social life, we need prudence, vigilance, loyalty, transparency, together with the courage to denounce any wrongdoing. If it is not combated openly, sooner or later everyone will become an accomplice to it, and it will end up destroying our very existence...”. ~ (from “Misericordiae Vultus; Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy”; Francis, Bishop Of Rome, Servant of the Servants of God; To all who read this letter Grace, Mercy, and Peace; Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 11 April, the Vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter, or the Sunday of Divine Mercy, in the year of our Lord, 2015, the third of my Pontificate. Franciscus).

(left-clicking the yellow rectangles with the capital ‘U’ opens each in a new web page).

• day in and day out (adv.): without respite; [e.g.]: “he plays chess day in and day out”; (synonym): all the time. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

• day in, day out (adv.; idiomatic): every day; daily; constantly or continuously (especially, of something which has become routine or monotonous); [e.g.]: “Even if you like peanut butter sandwiches, eating the same sandwiches day in, day out will get old”; “There were derailments happening day in and day out, due in part to ‘shunting mishaps’ but more frequently involving wagons in freight trains due to a combination of poor track and speed”. (page 52, “When the Tide Turned to a Safer Railway”, by John Crosse; January 26, 2022, RAIL, № 949); (related terms): week in, week out; year in, year out; night in, night out; month in, month out. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary).

• day in and day out (idiom): a phrase used to describe something which happens routinely or regularly; [e.g.]: “Day in and day out, I pass the same woman walking her dog”; “My mother started driving us to school because we would miss the bus day in and day out”. [variant: ‘day in, day out, every day, without fail’]. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms).

• day in and day out (idiom): on every day; for each day; [e.g.]: “She watches soap operas day in and day out”; “They eat nothing but vegetables, day in, day out”. ~ (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs).

• day in, day out (idiom): done or happening every day for a long period of time, esp. of something boring; [e.g.]: “I have to do the same boring jobs day in day out”; (synonyms): continually and repeatedly; morning, noon, and night; hour after hour; year in, year out. ~ (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus).

• day in, day out (idiom): every day; used to say a repeated event or task is boring; [e.g.]: “I do the same things day in, day out”. [variant: ‘day in and day out’]. ~ (Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary).

• day in, day out (cliché): for an indefinite number of successive days; [e.g.]: “does the same thing at work day in, day out”; day after day: for an indefinite or seemingly endless number of days; [e.g.]: “wore the same pants day after day”. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

• day in, day out (idiom): every day, without respite; daily, without fail; regularly; constantly; routinely; incessantly; happening daily for a long time; over and over again; all the time; [e.g.]: “They had to endure the city’s dirt and noise day in, day out”; “I’ve had enough of the same routine, day in and day out. I will take a long vacation”; “We have to feed our bodies day in, day out”; “He takes his dog for a walk day in, day out”; “Dad started driving us to school since we used to miss the bus day in, day out”; “The mentally ill woman wore the same clothes day in, day out for years”; “I drink tea day in, day out”; “It’s boring to work day in, day out as a lifeguard”; “For the last week, it has been raining day in, day out”; “My secretary is outgoing and cheerful day in, day out, which makes the work environment pleasant”; “Life feels too boring when you go to office for work day in, day out”. [origin: people have used the idiom “day in, day out” since the early 1800s, often to express boredom from doing a certain thing daily over a long time; it is also used to express disbelief; this phrase was defined in William Carr’s “The Dialect of Craven”, published in 1828; in a 1960 autobiography titled “The Buried Day”, Cecil Day-Lewis (1904-1972) used it to describe his school days; he wrote that his schoolmates jeered at, kicked around, or ostracised a certain boy day in, day out for several years; by this time, the idiom was already a cliché]. ~ (The Idioms Dictionary).

Do-or-Die:

• do-or-die (adj.): requiring supreme effort to avoid the dire consequences of failure; [e.g.]: “it was a do-or-die situation”. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• to do or die (cliché): to make a last-ditch effort. This extreme measure was first recorded in print in the seventeenth century. An early use occurs in John Fletcher’s play “The Island Princess” (1621), where a character says, “Do or die” (2.4). Before long it came to be used figuratively, although it reverted to literal use (and changed form) in Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (1854): “Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred”. ~ (The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer).

• Elvis has left the building (idiom): used to refer to ‘the end’ of a public show, or event, and meaning the show has finished and everyone can go home now; [e.g.]: “What are you waiting for now? Elvis has left the building already”; “I think we delayed too long in coming—Elvis has left the building already”; “The event manager said, ‘I am sorry Mr. Reddy, you are late. Elvis has left the building already’”; “Why has Elvis left the building so soon? The show was supposed to end at eleven o’clock tonight”; “Tom went to the movies to watch ‘Black Panther’ with his friends, and, after the movie had finally ended, yes, Elvis had left the building and it was time to go home”; “I came here, to take photos of the tornado from near, but it turned away before reaching to us. Elvis has left the building already”; (synonyms): (a.) the concert is over—go home; (b.) it’s all over!; (c.) finished or ended; (d.) the end; (e.) the party is over; (f.) over and done with. [origin: this expression was used back in the days at the end of every Elvis Presley concert to let fans know there would be no more performances and they need to go home. Now, it is used more widely to show that someone has made an exit or that a process is complete]. ~ (The-Idioms-Dot-Com).

• The phrase “Elvis has left the building” is an expression which was often used by public address announcers at the conclusion of Elvis Presley concerts in order to disperse audiences who lingered in hopes of an encore. It has since become a catchphrase and punchline.

Origin: The phrase was first used by promoter Horace Logan at the “Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium” in Shreveport, Louisiana, on December 15, 1956. Elvis had appeared in the middle of the night’s lineup, and the promoter needed to quiet the audience so the remaining performers could play. The full quotation was:

• “All right, all right, Elvis has left the building. I’ve told you absolutely straight up to this point. You know that. He has left the building. He left the stage and went out the back with the policemen and he is now gone from the building”.

The phrase “Elvis has left the building” is also heard at the end of Elvis’ March 1961 “Pearl Harbor Memorial” benefit concert, after Elvis exits at the end of “Hound Dog” and a short coda from the band. Throughout the 1970s, the phrase was captured on record several times, spoken by Al Dvorin (Albert Dvorin, 1923-2004, was a bandleader who was best known for working with Elvis Presley). In later years the phrase would be spoken by some of Elvis’ backup singers to calm down the audience after concerts.

In popular culture: “Elvis Has Just Left the Building” is a song by Frank Zappa, first released in 1988 on “Broadway the Hard Way”. The phrase has since become a catchphrase and punchline, used to refer to anyone who has exited in some sense (even death). For instance, it might be used when someone makes a dramatic exit from an argument, to relieve tension among those who remain. Baseball broadcasters on radio or television sometimes use the phrase as a humorous way to describe a home run, which is typically hit over the outfield fence, leaving the field of play. ~ (2024 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia).

• give the game away (informal): accidentally reveal your own or another person’s secret plan, trick, etc. and so spoil it; [e.g.]: “Don’t laugh when he comes in or you’ll give the game away”; “The birthday present’s got to be a surprise, and he can’t keep a secret, so never tell him anything important in case he gives the game away”; (opposite): keep somebody guessing. ~ (Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary).

• give the game away (common): if someone or something gives the game away, they reveal something which someone had been trying to keep secret; [e.g.]: “He had intended to make his announcement in an article in The Times but the paper gave the game away by advertising the article a week before publishing”; “She looks every inch a Beverly Hills native, as she leans against a palm tree, and only the English accent gives the game away”. ~ (Collins CoBuild Idioms Dictionary).

• give the game away (idiom): to reveal something which was meant to be kept secret, especially a plan; [e.g.]: “You’re going to give the game away if you don’t quit whispering about it!”; “They were trying to sneak up on the other team, but their team-leader’s bright tee-shirt gave the game away”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms).

• hide (someone or something) in plain view (idiom): to conceal someone or something so they or it go unnoticed despite being in full, unrestricted view; [e.g.]: “I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re hiding the kidnapped infant in plain view, masquerading as a married couple out for a stroll in the fresh air”. ~ (Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary).

• in the main (idiom): generally; for the most part; [e.g.]: “My employees work hard, in the main, as there’s just a few who give me headaches every once in a while”; “It’s a good book, in the main, even though a few scenes seem unfinished”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms).

• in the main (idiom): basically; generally; [e.g.]: “[Mary]: ‘Everything looks all right—in the main, that is’; [Sally]: ‘What details are needing attention?’ [Mary]: ‘Just a few things, here and there, like on page twenty-seven’”; “[John]: ‘Are you all ready?’ [Sue]: ‘I think we’re ready—in the main, anyway’; [John]: ‘Then shall we go’?” ~ (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs; Edited Version).

• in the main (idiom): for the most part, chiefly; [e.g.]: “It was, in the main, an excellent conference”. [first half of the 1600s]. ~ (The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms).

• in no uncertain terms (cliché): emphatically, very clearly; this double negative appears to have become very popular about the middle of the twentieth century. Lawrence Durrell used it in Balthazar (1958); [e.g.]: “I told Abdul so in no uncertain terms”; a slightly slangier synonym is “loud and clear”. ~ (Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer).

• ivory tower (idiom): a place or attitude of retreat, remoteness from everyday affairs; [e.g.]: “What does the professor know about student life, living in an ivory tower as he does?” This term is a translation of the French “tour d’ivoire”, which the critic Saint-Beuve used to describe the attitude of poet Alfred de Vigny in 1837. It is used most often in reference to intellectuals and artists who remain complacently aloof. ~ (The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms)./p>

• ivory tower (n.): an imaginary location where aloof academics are said to reside and work; [e.g.]: “Why don’t you come out of your ivory tower and see what the world is really like?” ~ (McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions).

• ivory tower (cliché): a situation or attitude remote from practical affairs. The term originated in the French critic Sainte-Beuve’s description of poet Alfred de Vigny as living in an ivory tower (1837), that is, isolated from life’s harsh realities. Subsequently, the term has been used to describe academics, artists, writers, or indeed anyone complacently aloof from everyday affairs. Cyril Connolly used it to disparage Walter Pater: “Pater, calling an art-for-art’s sake muezzin to the faithful from the top-most turret of the ivory tower” (“Enemies of Promise”, 1938). The term is heard less often today but is by no means obsolete. ~ (The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer).

• ivory tower (n.): a place or attitude of retreat, especially preoccupation with lofty, remote, or intellectual considerations rather than practical everyday life. [translation of French tour d’ivoire; tour, ‘tower’ + de, ‘of’ + ivoire, ‘ivory’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary).

• ivory tower (n.): (a.) seclusion or remoteness of attitude regarding real problems, everyday life, etc.; (b.) (as modifier): ivory-tower aestheticism (adj.): ivory-towered. ~ (Collins English Dictionary).

• ivory tower (n.): 1. a place or situation remote from worldly or practical affairs; [e.g.]: “the university as an ivory tower persists”; 2. an attitude of aloofness from or disdain or disregard for worldly or practical affairs; (adj.): ivory-towered, ivory-towerish. [translation of French “tour d’ivoire”, phrase used by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1837) in reference to the isolated life of the poet Alfred de Vigny]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary).

• ivory tower (n.): suggests elegant detachment in a cool, white aerie, where a poet or philosopher might retreat to think and write. ~ (Farlex Trivia Dictionary).

• ivory tower (n.): a place or way of life which is cut off from the unpleasant realities. ~ (Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group).

• ivory tower (n.): a state of mind which is discussed as if it were a place; [e.g.]: “he lived in the ivory tower of speculation”; “they viewed universities as ivory towers”. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0).

__________

ivory tower (n.): an ivory tower is a metaphorical place—or an atmosphere—where people are happily cut off from the rest of the world in favour of their own pursuits, usually mental and esoteric ones. From the nineteenth century, it has been used to designate an environment of intellectual pursuit disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday life. Most contemporary uses of the term refer to academia or the college and university systems in many countries.

The first modern usage of “ivory tower” in the familiar sense of an unworldly dreamer can be found in a poem of 1837, “Pensées d’Août, à M. Villemain”, by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, a French literary critic and author, who used the term “tour d’ivoire” for the poetical attitude of Alfred de Vigny as contrasted with the more socially engaged Victor Hugo: “Et Vigny, plus secret, Comme en sa tour d’ivoire, avant midi rentrait” (‘And Vigny, the more secretive, like he was in his ivory tower, returning before midday’).

Henry James’ last novel, “The Ivory Tower”, was begun in 1914 and left unfinished at his death two years later. Paralleling James’ own dismaying experience of the United States after twenty years away, it chronicles the effect on a high-minded returning upper-class American of the vulgar emptiness of the Gilded Age. “You seem all here so hideously rich”, says his hero. Thus, there are two meanings mixed together: mockery of an absent-minded savant and admiration of someone who is able to devote his or her entire efforts to a noble cause (hence “ivory”, a noble but impractical building material).

The term has a rather negative flavour today, the implication being that specialists who are so deeply drawn into their fields of study often can’t find a lingua franca with laymen outside their “ivory towers”.

In Andrew Hodges’ biography of the University of Cambridge scientist Alan Turing, he discusses Turing’s 1936-38 stay at Princeton University and writes that “the tower of the Graduate College was an exact replica of Magdalen College, and it was popularly called the Ivory Tower, because of that benefactor of Princeton, the Procter who manufactured Ivory soap”. William Cooper Procter (Princeton class of 1883) was a significant supporter of the construction of the Graduate College, and the main dining hall bears the Procter name. The skylines of Oxford and Cambridge universities, along with many Ivy League universities, are dotted with turrets and spires which are often described as “Ivory Towers”.

In Randall Jarrell’s essay “The End of the Line” (1942), he asserts that if modern poetry is to survive then poets must come down from the “Ivory Tower” of elitist composition. Jarrell’s main thrust is that the rich poetry of the modernist period was over-dependent upon reference to other literary works. For Jarrell the Ivory Tower led modern poetry into obscurity.

An ivory tower may also be an entity of “reason, rationality and rigid structures [which] colonises the world of lived experience”, as explained by Kirsten J. Broadfoot in an article about the possibilities of postcolonial organisational communication. This imagined academic community creates an essence of exclusivity and superiority. She explains this as a group that “functions like an exclusive club whose membership is tightly controlled by what might be called a ‘dominant frame’”. In an academic sense, this leads to an “overwhelming and disproportionate dominance” of the United States and the Western world.

The ivory tower can be dangerous, some believe, in its inherent privatisation of knowledge and intellect. Academics who are seeking “legitimacy for their narratives from the heart end up echoing the sanitised tone of the Master Narrative”. This becomes a cyclical process as intellects collectively defend the “imaginary ivory tower”.

Writers for Philadelphia’s other newspapers sarcastically referred to the former headquarters of the establishment “Philadelphia Inquirer”, a white art deco tower called the Elverson Building, as the “Ivory Tower of Truth”.

The ivory tower is most often connected to the career and lifestyle of academics in university and college systems. They have often garnered reputations as elite institutions by joining or creating associations with other universities. In many countries, these institutions aligned themselves with a specific mission or athletic ties. Some have criticised the elitism associated with these groups. Others have also noted that these terms bear little resemblance to the actual best universities in a country.