When I use those idiomatical expressions.

Question

Hello,I'm to ask you about certain expressions native American usually say in their daily lives.I've heard pretty much of following:" what on earth is this???"I know that "on earth"term is used when you feel unexpected from something and want to figure out what's going on. But still, I don't get it about the use of "on earth" in the sentence.Where does that expression orginate from?and what's the detail difference in using it or not.Plus,There's an idiomatic expression commonly used when you want to say"It's not a big deal":"It's a piece of cake."I really wonder why "it's a piece of cake" when something is not that important. Where does it come from?Thanks for the comcern,Se Won Hwang.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hello, I'm to ask you about certain expressions native American usually say in their daily lives. I've heard pretty much ... earth" in the sentence. Where does that expression orginate from? and what's the detail difference in using it or not.[/nq]
It is simply a way saying "What is this?" with emphasis. Other ways of emphasizing the same expression:
"What in the world is this?"
"What the heck is this?"
The following seem a bit dated, but are still occasionally used:

"What in the blue blazes is this?"
"What in blue blazes is this?"
And the following emphasizes using stronger language:

"What in the **** is this?"
"What the **** is this?"
I even find an example on the Internet of "What in Heaven and Earth is this?"
I can only speculate that the emphasis began with the idea of bringing in the possibilities available if one were to consider the whole of the earth (the whole world), and that other terms were later substituted to strengthen the expression. Compare the scope of what Shakespeare's Hamlet is talking about when he states "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
[nq:1]Plus, There's an idiomatic expression commonly used when you want to say"It'snot a big deal": "It's a piece of cake." I really wonder why "it's a piece of cake" when something is not that important. Where does it come from?[/nq]
The answer would appear to be unknown. Evan Morris briefly discusses it in his "Word Detective" column at
http://www.word-detective.com/092403.html
He says that "piece of cake" originally meant simply "something good." It now means "something easily accomplished," not "something not that important."

Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

Usenet · Answer

Raymond S. Wise filted:

You're really going to have trouble when you discover that something is a piece of cake because it's easy as pie..r

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Raymond S. Wise filted:[/nq]
[nq:2]not The answer would appear to be unknown. Evan Morris ... now means "something easily accomplished," not "something not that important."[/nq]
[nq:1]You're really going to have trouble when you discover that something isa piece of cake because it's easy as pie..r[/nq]
I considered there might be a connection, but knew no way of verifying it. If "piece of cake" originally meant "something good," it may very well be that the semantic drift towards the "something easily accomplished" meaning occurred because of the influence of "as easy as pie" (which has been used metaphorically for a much longer time than has "a piece of cake").

Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

When I use those idiomatical expressions.

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