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Salad days

May 13, 2023

For other uses, see Salad Days (disambiguation).

"Salad days" is a Shakespearean idiom referring to a period of carefree innocence, idealism, and pleasure associated with youth. The modern use, chiefly in the United States, describes a heyday, when a person is/was at the peak of their abilities, while not necessarily a youth.

History

The phrase is attributed to William Shakespeare, who made the first known use of it in his 1606 play Antony and Cleopatra.[1] In the speech at the end of Act One in which Cleopatra is regretting her youthful dalliances with Julius Caesar she says, "...My salad days, / When I was green in judgment, cold in blood/To say as I said then!"[2]

The phrase became popular only from the middle of the 19th century, coming to mean "a period of youthful inexperience or indiscretion." The metaphor comes from Cleopatra's use of the word 'green'—presumably meaning someone youthful, inexperienced, or immature. Her references to "green" and "cold" both suggest qualities of salads.[3]

Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage summarizes several other possible meanings of the metaphor:

"Whether the point is that youth, like salad, is raw, or that salad is highly flavoured and youth loves high flavours, or that innocent herbs are youth's food as milk is babes' and meat is men's, few of those who use the phrase could perhaps tell us; if so, it is fitter for parrots' than for human speech."[4]

Usage

Queen Elizabeth II used the phrase during her Silver Jubilee royal address in 1977, referring to her vow to God and her people when she made her 51st birthday broadcast: "Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in judgment, I do not regret nor retract one word of it."[5]

The phrase has been used as the title of several books, including novels by Theodora Benson,[6] Françoise Sagan,[7] and Charles Romalotti;[8] Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s autobiography The Salad Days;[9] and numerous cookbooks.[10][11]

Paul Greenberg in "Tuna's End", his 2010 The New York Times Magazine article wrote: "Aboard one Zodiac, Frank Hewetson, a 20-year Greenpeace veteran who in his salad days as a protester scaled the first BP deepwater oil rigs off Scotland, tried to direct his pilot toward the net so that he could throw a daisy chain of sandbags over its floating edge and allow the bluefin to escape."[12]

In film, television, and modern theatre

Salad Days is a British musical by Julian Slade and lyricist Dorothy Reynolds. It premiered in the UK at the Bristol Old Vic[13] in June 1954, and transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in London on August 5, 1954. One of its songs, "The Time of My Life," includes the lyrics,[14] "We're young and we're green as the leaf on the tree / For these are our salad days."

A sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus is called "Salad Days," and features a parody of Slade's musical as interpreted by Sam Peckinpah.

Salad Days is the name of a documentary film released in 2014 about the evolving punk and hardcore scene in Washington DC during the 1980s and 1990s. The choice of name hints at the 1985 Salad Days (EP) by the Washington DC band Minor Threat.

The 2010 Taiwanese drama Gloomy Salad Days is named after the expression.

In music

Album and song titles

  • In 1985, Washington, D.C., hardcore punk band Minor Threat released the song "Salad Days," reflecting on days of spirited youth in contrast to a time of adult disillusionment.
  • The pop-punk/emo band Misser has a song called "Goddamn Salad Days" from their 2013 EP Distancing.[15]
  • "Salad Days" is a song by the Cardiff post-punk band Young Marble Giants, including the lyric "Think of salad days, they were folly and fun, they were good, they were young."

In song lyrics

  • The phrase is used in the Spandau Ballet song "Gold": "These are my salad days, slowly being eaten away."
  • The idiom is used again in the opening line of the track "Lovers Who Uncover" by The Little Ones: "Where do all the lovers meet with one another, in an effort to uncover what has happened to their salad days?"
  • The phrase is also used in the track "Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia)" from Patrick Stump's Truant Wave EP: "Oh, nostalgia I don't need you anymore / 'Cause the salad days are over and the meat is at my door."
  • Frank Zappa's song "Electric Aunt Jemima" contains the phrase as well: "Holiday and salad days, and days of moldy mayonnaise."
  • Talib Kweli's song "Friends & Family" on his album Gutter Rainbows uses the phrase in reference to his early career: "Rhyming in Greenwich Village circa 1993 / Yeah those were the salad days, my career's appetizer." His song "Ms. Hill" on his album Right About Now uses the phrase, saying, "We used to kick it in the salad days, but she look at me like she don't know me when she see me nowadays."
  • The phrase is also used in the chorus of the track "Vince The Loveable Stoner" from The Fratellis's Costello Music album: "And I haven't seen a pupil in his eyes for 16 days, the Catholic girls love him in a hundred million different ways, and he's been up for days, in a thick malaise, he's only listened to the salad days."[17]
  • The song "What Would Jimi Do?" on bassist Tony Levin's album Resonator begins with the lyric "Lately, I've been thinking back, back into my salad days."
  • Geddy Lee refers to the phrase in Rush's 2010 documentary called Beyond the Lighted Stage.[18]
  • Green Day's song "¡Viva la Gloria!" uses the phrase: "You made your bed in salad days amongst the ruins."
  • The Finn Brothers song "Edible Flowers" from 2004's Everyone Is Here album features the line "Taste the edible flowers scattered in the salad days."
  • Desaparecidos' song "City on the Hill" from their 2015 record Payola includes the lyric: "All the stolen melodies they played in the hit parade / all the borrowed spirituals they fade in the salad days."
  • Brand New's song "Waste" from their 2017 record Science Fiction includes the lyric: "You and I were stuck in the waste / Talking about our salad days / What a damn lie."
  • Deep Purple's single "Any Fule Kno That" from their 1998 album Abandon contains the lyric "Salad days go a-tickling by / Have a high time, burn money in the meantime."

References

  1. ^ Jack, Albert (2005). Red herrings and white elephants: the origins of the phrases we use everyday. HarperCollins. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-06-084337-3. Retrieved April 28, 2011. The phrase is a simple one with a simple origin provided, once again, by Shakespeare. In 1606 the Bard wrote the play Antony And Cleopatra, which includes the line: 'They were my salad days, when I was green in judgement.'
  2. ^ Michael Macrone (1990), "Salad Days", Brush up your Shakespeare!, pp. 126–127, ISBN 978-0-517-18935-1
  3. ^ Walker, John Louis (2002). Shakespeare and the classical tradition: an annotated bibliography, 1961–1991. New York: Routledge. p. 340. ISBN 0-8240-6697-9. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  4. ^ Fowler, H. W. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press, 1926.
  5. ^ "Britain Marks the Queen's Silver Jubilee". The New York Times Archive. June 8, 1977. p. 73. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "Salad Days". The Spectator Archive. October 20, 1928. p. 52. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Sagan, Françoise, Salad Days, Dutton Adult, 1984, ISBN 0-525-24238-4
  8. ^ Romalotti, Charles, Salad Days, Layman Press, 2000, ISBN
  9. ^ Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr., Salad Days, Doubleday, 1988, ISBN 978-0-385-17404-6
  10. ^ Desaulnier, Marcel, Salad Days: Main Course Salads for a First Class Meal, Simon & Schuster, 1998, ISBN 978-0-684-82261-7
  11. ^ Powell, Pam, Salad Days: Recipes for Delicious Organic Salads and Dressings for Every Season, Voyageur Press, 2011, ISBN 0-7603-4043-9
  12. ^ Paul Greenberg (June 21, 2010). "Tuna's End". New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  13. ^ "Salad Days". August 27, 2021.
  14. ^ Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade (1961), Salad Days – Book and lyrics, p. 54, ISBN 978-0-573-08025-8
  15. ^ Video on YouTube
  16. ^ "Mac DeMarco announces new album, Salad Days, stream "Passing Out Pieces"". January 21, 2014.
  17. ^ . Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  18. ^ "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" – via www.imdb.com.

External links

 
Look up salad days in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Dictionary.com entry
  • World Wide Words discussion of 'Salad Days' usage, original and modern

May 13, 2023
salad, days, other, uses, salad, days, disambiguation, shakespearean, idiom, referring, period, carefree, innocence, idealism, pleasure, associated, with, youth, modern, chiefly, united, states, describes, heyday, when, person, peak, their, abilities, while, n. For other uses see Salad Days disambiguation Salad days is a Shakespearean idiom referring to a period of carefree innocence idealism and pleasure associated with youth The modern use chiefly in the United States describes a heyday when a person is was at the peak of their abilities while not necessarily a youth Contents 1 History 2 Usage 2 1 In film television and modern theatre 2 2 In music 2 2 1 Album and song titles 2 2 2 In song lyrics 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditThe phrase is attributed to William Shakespeare who made the first known use of it in his 1606 play Antony and Cleopatra 1 In the speech at the end of Act One in which Cleopatra is regretting her youthful dalliances with Julius Caesar she says My salad days When I was green in judgment cold in blood To say as I said then 2 The phrase became popular only from the middle of the 19th century coming to mean a period of youthful inexperience or indiscretion The metaphor comes from Cleopatra s use of the word green presumably meaning someone youthful inexperienced or immature Her references to green and cold both suggest qualities of salads 3 Fowler s Dictionary of Modern English Usage summarizes several other possible meanings of the metaphor Whether the point is that youth like salad is raw or that salad is highly flavoured and youth loves high flavours or that innocent herbs are youth s food as milk is babes and meat is men s few of those who use the phrase could perhaps tell us if so it is fitter for parrots than for human speech 4 Usage EditQueen Elizabeth II used the phrase during her Silver Jubilee royal address in 1977 referring to her vow to God and her people when she made her 51st birthday broadcast Although that vow was made in my salad days when I was green in judgment I do not regret nor retract one word of it 5 The phrase has been used as the title of several books including novels by Theodora Benson 6 Francoise Sagan 7 and Charles Romalotti 8 Douglas Fairbanks Jr s autobiography The Salad Days 9 and numerous cookbooks 10 11 Paul Greenberg in Tuna s End his 2010 The New York Times Magazine article wrote Aboard one Zodiac Frank Hewetson a 20 year Greenpeace veteran who in his salad days as a protester scaled the first BP deepwater oil rigs off Scotland tried to direct his pilot toward the net so that he could throw a daisy chain of sandbags over its floating edge and allow the bluefin to escape 12 In film television and modern theatre Edit Salad Days is a British musical by Julian Slade and lyricist Dorothy Reynolds It premiered in the UK at the Bristol Old Vic 13 in June 1954 and transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in London on August 5 1954 One of its songs The Time of My Life includes the lyrics 14 We re young and we re green as the leaf on the tree For these are our salad days A sketch from Monty Python s Flying Circus is called Salad Days and features a parody of Slade s musical as interpreted by Sam Peckinpah Salad Days is the name of a documentary film released in 2014 about the evolving punk and hardcore scene in Washington DC during the 1980s and 1990s The choice of name hints at the 1985 Salad Days EP by the Washington DC band Minor Threat The 2010 Taiwanese drama Gloomy Salad Days is named after the expression In music Edit Album and song titles Edit Procol Harum has a song on their eponymous debut album titled Salad Days Are Here Again In 1985 Washington D C hardcore punk band Minor Threat released the song Salad Days reflecting on days of spirited youth in contrast to a time of adult disillusionment Adrian Belew s 1999 album Salad Days consists of acoustic recordings of solo work as well as songs from his King Crimson era Punk rock collective Bomb the Music Industry have a song titled Unlimited Breadsticks Soup and Salad Days on their 2007 album Get Warmer The pop punk emo band Misser has a song called Goddamn Salad Days from their 2013 EP Distancing 15 Canadian musician Mac DeMarco s second album released in 2014 is titled Salad Days 16 Salad Days is a song by the Cardiff post punk band Young Marble Giants including the lyric Think of salad days they were folly and fun they were good they were young In song lyrics Edit The phrase is used in the Spandau Ballet song Gold These are my salad days slowly being eaten away The idiom is used again in the opening line of the track Lovers Who Uncover by The Little Ones Where do all the lovers meet with one another in an effort to uncover what has happened to their salad days The phrase is also used in the track Spotlight Oh Nostalgia from Patrick Stump s Truant Wave EP Oh nostalgia I don t need you anymore Cause the salad days are over and the meat is at my door Frank Zappa s song Electric Aunt Jemima contains the phrase as well Holiday and salad days and days of moldy mayonnaise Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer use the phrase in the song Frank to Valentino on the album When I Go Talib Kweli s song Friends amp Family on his album Gutter Rainbows uses the phrase in reference to his early career Rhyming in Greenwich Village circa 1993 Yeah those were the salad days my career s appetizer His song Ms Hill on his album Right About Now uses the phrase saying We used to kick it in the salad days but she look at me like she don t know me when she see me nowadays The Manhattan Transfer uses the phrase in their song Zoo Blues which is featured on their 1987 album Brasil The phrase is also used in the chorus of the track Vince The Loveable Stoner from The Fratellis s Costello Music album And I haven t seen a pupil in his eyes for 16 days the Catholic girls love him in a hundred million different ways and he s been up for days in a thick malaise he s only listened to the salad days 17 In Modest Mouse s song Guilty Cocker Spaniels Isaac Brock sings Salad days add up to daily shit The song What Would Jimi Do on bassist Tony Levin s album Resonator begins with the lyric Lately I ve been thinking back back into my salad days Cursive uses the phrase on the last song of their 2006 release Happy Hollow Geddy Lee refers to the phrase in Rush s 2010 documentary called Beyond the Lighted Stage 18 Green Day s song Viva la Gloria uses the phrase You made your bed in salad days amongst the ruins The Finn Brothers song Edible Flowers from 2004 s Everyone Is Here album features the line Taste the edible flowers scattered in the salad days Desaparecidos song City on the Hill from their 2015 record Payola includes the lyric All the stolen melodies they played in the hit parade all the borrowed spirituals they fade in the salad days Brand New s song Waste from their 2017 record Science Fiction includes the lyric You and I were stuck in the waste Talking about our salad days What a damn lie Deep Purple s single Any Fule Kno That from their 1998 album Abandon contains the lyric Salad days go a tickling by Have a high time burn money in the meantime References Edit Jack Albert 2005 Red herrings and white elephants the origins of the phrases we use everyday HarperCollins p 44 ISBN 978 0 06 084337 3 Retrieved April 28 2011 The phrase is a simple one with a simple origin provided once again by Shakespeare In 1606 the Bard wrote the play Antony And Cleopatra which includes the line They were my salad days when I was green in judgement Michael Macrone 1990 Salad Days Brush up your Shakespeare pp 126 127 ISBN 978 0 517 18935 1 Walker John Louis 2002 Shakespeare and the classical tradition an annotated bibliography 1961 1991 New York Routledge p 340 ISBN 0 8240 6697 9 Retrieved May 3 2011 Fowler H W A Dictionary of Modern English Usage Oxford University Press 1926 Britain Marks the Queen s Silver Jubilee The New York Times Archive June 8 1977 p 73 Retrieved September 8 2022 Salad Days The Spectator Archive October 20 1928 p 52 Retrieved May 9 2022 Sagan Francoise Salad Days Dutton Adult 1984 ISBN 0 525 24238 4 Romalotti Charles Salad Days Layman Press 2000 ISBN Fairbanks Douglas Jr Salad Days Doubleday 1988 ISBN 978 0 385 17404 6 Desaulnier Marcel Salad Days Main Course Salads for a First Class Meal Simon amp Schuster 1998 ISBN 978 0 684 82261 7 Powell Pam Salad Days Recipes for Delicious Organic Salads and Dressings for Every Season Voyageur Press 2011 ISBN 0 7603 4043 9 Paul Greenberg June 21 2010 Tuna s End New York Times Retrieved June 24 2010 Salad Days August 27 2021 Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade 1961 Salad Days Book and lyrics p 54 ISBN 978 0 573 08025 8 Video on YouTube Mac DeMarco announces new album Salad Days stream Passing Out Pieces January 21 2014 The Fratellis Releases Archived from the original on May 13 2012 Retrieved September 4 2012 Rush Beyond the Lighted Stage via www imdb com External links Edit Look up salad days in Wiktionary the free dictionary Dictionary com entry World Wide Words discussion of Salad Days usage original and modern Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Salad days amp oldid 1133707598, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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