Merlin's Beard

Throughout the Harry Potter series there are a lot of exclamations focussing on the famous wizard Merlin. Amos Diggory is the first wizard using the phrase ‘Merlin’s beard’ to express his astonishment when he is being introduced to the famous Harry Potter.[1] Just like in the non-magical world Merlin is very famous and admired. He is the founding father of the Order of Merlin which has been awarded to exceptionally talented and brave wizards. According to his chocolate frog card which belongs to a collection of cards summarizing accomplishments of famous wizards and witches he is famous for being part of the Court of King Arthur.[2] J. K. Rowling furthermore published a piece on pottermore.com stating that Merlin had once belonged to the house of Slytherin during his time at Hogwarts.[3]

            Merlin is often associated with long robes, white hair and a long beard, very similar to Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. Both wizards are associated with great power and wisdom.[4] The expression ‘Merlin’s Beard’ is therefore a colloquialism highlighting his special role within the wizarding world. It is equivalent to exclamations such as ‘Oh Lord’ or ‘Holy Christ’ as they are used by muggles.

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000, p.83.

[2] "Chocolate Frog Card Merlin." Pottermore. Web. 17.03.2015. <http://www.pottermore.com/en/trunk/cards/item/merlin-card>.

[3] Rowling, J.K. "Order of Merlin." Pottermore. Web. 17.03.2015. <http://www.pottermore.com/en/book6/chapter30/moment1/order-of-merlin>.

[4] see also: "Merlin." Myth Encyclopedia. Web. 19.03.2015. <http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Le-Me/Merlin.html>.

Miss for a sackful of Galleons

In the fourth novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the idiom ‘not miss for the world’ is changed into ‘not miss for a sackful of Galleons’. The muggle idiom expresses the great anticipation of an event. The person in question is determined to attend this event even if someone else offered something extraordinary like the entire world in order to keep him from going.

In the novel Amos Diggory, a colleague of Mr Weasley who is also working for the Ministry of Magic is looking forward to such a sporting event: “’Quidditch World Cup, wouldn’t miss it for a sackful of Galleons – and the tickets cost about that.’”[1] Galleons, apart from Sickles and Knuts, are very valuable golden coins which are used as currency in the wizarding world. A sackful of Galleons is extremely valuable and is, for this reason, a very tempting offer in exchange for the absence from a game. However, Diggory alleviates this argument immediately stating that the price for the tickets was just as high. The offer of a sackful of Galleons would, thus, only compensate the investment he has already made and loses the temptation it was ascribed to at first. 

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000, p.83.

Dressed like a house-elf

Dobby the house-elf describes creatures of his kind in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as “’[…]the lowly, the enslaved, […] dregs of the magical world!’”[1]  In the magical world house-elves belong to a wizard family and serve them until they die. They have to follow every command and depend on the mercy of their master. As a sign of their belonging house-elves have to wear tea-towels or other rags. Thus, they have to wear the same piece of clothing from the moment of their birth until the moment they die. This leads to their rather sordid appearance.

In the third novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Draco Malfoy makes a snide remark about their new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher: “’He dresses like our old house-elf.’”[2] The comparison ‘being dressed like an elf’ refers to a shabby appearance of a wizard or witch. Professor Lupin’s robes are described as frayed and patched and can, thus, be compared to house-elf clothing.

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. London: Bloomsbury, 1998, p. 19-23.

[2] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. London: Bloomsbury, 1999, p.156.

De-gnoming the Garden

The word de-gnoming is a neologism referring to the freeing of the garden from gnomes. It is comparable to the de-weeding of the garden done by muggle gardeners. Gnomes in the magical world look nothing like the figurines often found in non-magical gardens. They are living creatures which are considered to be garden pests. Mrs Weasley, the mother of Ron and his six siblings instructs her sons: “[…] You’re going to de-gnome the garden for me, they’re getting completely out of hand again.”[1] The book Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them gives clear instruction on de-gnoming: “The gnome can be expelled from the garden by swinging it in circles until dizzy and then dropping it over the garden wall.”[2] De-gnoming is, thus, an expression refering to the activity of making gnomes woozy before throwing them as far as possible. This way they are unable to find their way back into the garden.

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[1] ibid., p.42.

[2] Rowling, J.K. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, London: Bloomsbury, 2009, p.34.

To magic oneself out of something

At the beginning of the second novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry gets locked up in his room by his uncle. In an attempt to free him the Weasley’s Ron, George and Fred decide to rescue him with a flying car. Due to ministry regulation underage wizards are not allowed to perform magic outside school. Harry is, therefore, quite desperate and asks them to inform the headmaster:

“‘[…] Look, can you explain to them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won’t let me come back, and obviously I can’t magic myself out, because the Ministry’ll think that’s the second spell I’ve done in three days, so-‘

‘Stop gibbering’, said Ron, ‘we’ve come to take you home with us.’

‘But you can’t magic me out either-‘” [1]

To ‘magic oneself out’ is a neologism used by J. K. Rowling that derives from the phrases ‘to deliver out of’ and ‘to break out’. Both focus on an escape from an enclosed space. In the magical world it is much easier to escape with the use of magic. This neologism is, therefore, very accurate.

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. London: Bloomsbury, 1998, p.32.

Gulping Gargoyles

Hagrid commences to inform Harry about his past and his role in the defeat of a dark wizard known as Lord Voldemort. Due to this gruesome history most wizards and witches are rendered unable to say the name of Voldemort, Hagrid being one of them. He tries to explain this reaction to Harry: “‘Gulpin gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult.[…]’”[1] Once again he uses an exclamation of shock while he is dropping the word ending of the first word. The personification of a gargoyle is not uncommon in the wizarding world. Gargoyles are often able to speak and move and could, therefore, easily gulp.

The exclamation gulping gargoyles mirrors the reaction of people in frightening situations. While gargoyles are supposed to spout water, wizards and witches are supposed to say the name of Lord Voldemort. However, instead of spouting it the gargoyle gulps the water which will no longer come out. In the book people are often described the same way: “’[…]His name was …’ Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.”[2] After gulping something down a person has to gasp for air. This situation is also often depicted in the novel, for example when Ron and Harry meet on their train to Hogwarts. Harry has no fear of saying the name and mentions it in front of Ron who then gasps.[3] Gulping gargoyles is therefore a very accurate description of the situation Hagrid is in.

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997, p.45.

[2] ibid.

[3] ibid., p.75.

Galloping Gorgons

Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, comes to pick up Harry from his aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon Dursley. He is the first one to inform Harry about the fate of his parents and his magical powers. The Dursleys who had always withheld this particular information from Harry and had tried to raise him like an ordinary boy belong to the non-magical world and are, therefore, called muggles. In their capacity as muggles they are proud to have no knowledge of the wizarding world which is why they do not use proverbs or expressions used within this world.

However, Hagrid being the first one from this world whom Harry meets is quick to use such a phrase as soon as he realizes that he was supposed to write a letter to Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts: “‘Gallopin’ Gorgons, that reminds me,’ said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl – a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl – a long quill and a roll of parchment.”[1] According to an Interview of Rowling with the newspaper Scotland on Sunday Hagrid is described as character drawn from the area of Chepstow, Wales where word-endings are being dropped [2] which leads to the conclusion that he must be referring to galloping gorgons.  In this context it is an exclamation of shock and abruptness due to a sudden memory.

The term gorgons dates back to Greek mythology firstly used in Homer’s Illiad. These creatures were described as three daemons one of them known as Medusa. “The three Gorgones were depicted in ancient Greek […] as winged women with broad round heads, serpentine locks of hair, large staring eyes, wide mouths, the tusks of swine, lolling tongues, flared nostrils, and sometimes short coarse beards.”[3] Hooves are not part of this description. The verb galloping can, however, only be ascribed to hoofed animals. It is, therefore, inaccurate of Hagrid do combine galloping and gorgons.

There is one exception that would justify this combination of words. Hagrid might refer to the hoofed animal with which Medusa was pregnant at the time of her decapitation – Pegasos. According to one of the myths Pegasos sprang from Medusa’s neck the moment she was beheaded. This exclamation might, therefore, refer to the galloping child of a gorgon. It is, nonetheless, inaccurate. Hagrid might also refer to the phrase time is running. In this case time is galloping, so it is passing even more quickly. It is, therefore, high time to write a letter to Dumbledore. However, there is no clear connection between the rapidity of passing time and gorgons.

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997, p.43.

[2] Goring, Rosemary. "Harry's Fame," Scotland on Sunday, 17 January 1999. Web. 15.03. 2015. <http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/1999/0199-scotlandsunday-goring.html

[3] Atsma, Aaron J. "Medousa & Gorgones." Web. 16.03.2015. <http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Gorgones.html>.