A new leaf

A brand new year has just begun and it’s time to turn over a new leaf.

“Turn over a new leaf” is an idiom that means to begin again, to start doing things differently, to reform, to change.

Curious about the etymology of that phrase, I conducted an intensive Google search. I was sure that my investigation would inform me that the expression related to the changing of seasons. After all, the phrase does conjure up images of a leaf on a tree, the old leaf falling off in the autumn to be replaced by a new leaf in the spring.

A new beginning. A fresh start. A new leaf. Right?

My research indicated, however, that the origin of the adage has nothing to do with seaons, leaves, or trees.

One site said the turn of phrase dates back to the late 16th century, when pages in a book were often referred to as leafs (not “leaves”). Thus, turning over a new leaf is another way of saying “turning to a new page.”

Another site, however, claimed a considerably more interesting…and far more whimsical…origin for the phrase. A friend of Oscar Wilde allegedly suggested that Wilde, a homosexual, change his ways and turn over a new leaf. But when the friend found Wilde having gay sex with a hotel bellboy, the friend said, “But Oscar, you said you would turn over a new leaf.”

Wilde is supposed to have replied, “Yes, but I haven’t yet gotten to the bottom of the page.”

Get it? The word “page” can be a synonym for “bellboy.” That Oscar Wilde…he sure was quite the wit.

But I digress. In the interest of doing things differently (i.e., “turning over a new leaf”), and in recognition of what has become an increasingly short reading attention span in this country, my new leaf is to write shorter blog posts. 

Last March I wrote about shorter, more concise blog posts. In that posting I said, “…in the interest of not taxing my loyal blog followers with having to spend more than a minute or two reading my posts, I will continue to strive to keep my posts shorter and more concise.”

When it came right down to it, though, I failed to achieve my striving. My posts almost always range from at least 600 to sometimes more than 900 words. But it is now 2012, a new year, a new beginning, a fresh start. It’s time for me to turn over a new leaf.

And so, in the interest of brevity, I'm going to end this post at only 432 words.

Happy New Year!

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