An Assortment of Forgotten Realms Figures of Speech
"The air tastes of ___"
Definition: A phrase used to describe the general feel in a room.
Origin: Tabaxi; used by other species with a vomeronasal organ, especially carnivores; see By the taste of the air.
Example: "Very quiet in the salon today, I see. The air tastes of secrets."
"All dwarves are men and all elves are women."
Definition: A sarcastic expression, typically used to chide someone for having an overly simplistic or naïve worldview.
Origin: Dwarves; nowadays the phrase sees use by all common species. It stems from a misconception once spread widely by human explorers, who noticed that the dwarves they encountered all grew beards and the elves they met generally tended to be willowy, long-haired, and beardless. These explorers thus projected their notions of gender onto species to whom they didn’t apply. Dwarves in particular quickly grew to resent this.
Example:
"No matter what, good always prevails."
"Oh, yes, and all dwarves are men and all elves are women, right?"
"Bird-spittle"
Definition: A lie; something impossible or preposterous; synonymous with “bullshit.”
Origin: Werewolves. The phrase is derived from the story of Týr and Fenrir. The rope used to bind Fenrir is said to have been made from supposedly impossible things, among them “the spittle of a bird,” “the roots of a mountain,” and “the sound of a cat’s footfall.” As animosity between werewolves and other therianthropes has decreased, recent decades have seen the phrase be used more widely.
Example:
"But he said he loved me!"
"Bird-spittle. He's a charlatan. He lies like you and I breathe."
"By the taste of the air"
Definition: By the looks of it; as far as one can gather.
Origin: Tabaxi. The phrase refers to flehmening, a process by which a creature guides scents into its vomeronasal organ. Thus it is occasionally used by other species with such an organ.
Example: “By the taste of the air, it seems he fancies you!”
"Chirpy"
Definition: Cheerful, chipper, excitable, and/or talkative.
Origin: Aarakocra, though it’s widely-applicable enough that it sees use by most species now.
Example: “Well, aren’t you chirpy?”
"A dragon sang it to me"
Definition: Refers to hearsay; synonymous with “I heard it through the grapevine.” Often used sarcastically when one does have a concrete source for their information, but doesn’t want to reveal it; the humor comes from the fact that dragons are proud creatures who will very rarely sing for anyone but themselves.
Origin: Merchants and adventurers. The phrase has its roots in a phenomenon observed by travelers: when dragons fly in pairs (unusual) or groups (even more so), they will sometimes sing in harmony to pass the time. On the rare occasion when a dragon is seeking traveling companions, they’ll sing alone until another voice joins them. The songs tend to describe the singers’ specific journey or destination; thus they are largely improvised. Despite this, it seems all dragons somehow intuitively know the words.
Example:
"Ah. is that why your family is so ashamed of you?"
"...How do you know about that?"
"A dragon sang it to me."
"Fate's a clever huntress."
Definition: Fate strikes when one least expects it— and often with lethal precision. Sometimes used to gloat, suggesting that fate has dropped an opportunity into the speaker's lap as a cat catches a bird for its master. This use of the phrase is often met with She's a poacher, is what she is, especially by someone who feels the aforementioned opportunity should have gone to them or someone else instead. When uttered by an enemy, the phrase becomes a threat— or an invitation to fight.
Origin: Tabaxi, specifically the jaguar folk living in Chult.
Example:
"If it isn't you."
"Indeed. Fate's a clever huntress, isn't she?
"A friend in the tree is a stranger in the nest."
Definition: Even the closest friends should not be left alone with one’s children. Parents know their children best and should not trust anyone else to do the same, or to have their children’s best interests at heart.
Origin: Spotted gnolls. Despite their community-oriented society and their emphasis on collective problem-solving, spotted gnolls are infamously slow to trust when it comes to letting others around their cubs.
Example:
“You let them stay with Grath? Overnight?”
“I would trust Grath with my life!”
“That doesn’t mean you should trust her with your cubs, too! What do I always say?”
“A friend in the tree is a stranger in the nest…”
"Shaken from the branch"
Definition: Irritable; synonymous with “woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Sometimes the phrase “mid-song” is used to describe someone who is especially ill-tempered, i.e. “Shaken from the branch mid-song.”
Origin: Aarakocra. Harpies and sirens have a similar phrase, “[one] tumbled from the branch.” Kenku have been known to reference it by mimicking the sound of a tree branch rustling, sometimes followed by a thud.
Example:
"What do you want?"
"Someone was shaken from the branch this morning, eh?"
"Don't fucking touch me!"
"Ooh, and mid-song, too!"
"Shake the cuckoo from the nest"
Definition: To identify or excise a traitor from a group of people.
Origin: Rangers and druids, seemingly irrespective of species. The phrase refers to brood parasitism; thus the word “cuckoo” is sometimes replaced with the name of a similar species, like “cowbird” or “phoebe.” Over time, the idiom has been shortened to simply “Shake the cuckoo.”
Example:
"Whoever's been setting these fires, they're one of us."
"Then we'd best shake the cuckoo before it's too late."
"Soft-footed"
Definition: Weak-willed or weak of constitution; specifically refers to being unable to travel long distances, carry heavy burdens, or tolerate severe weather.
Origin: Centaurs. Can be used to describe a medical condition, like a disease affecting the hooves; poetically, to describe someone with a delicate disposition; or in a more derogatory sense. The latter is especially common among high-ranking military officials.
Example:
- "I've been diagnosed with softness of the foot. I'll have to wear this shoe for two weeks."
- "She was a slender, soft-footed mare who never had a bad thing to say about anyone."
- "I asked for warhorses! Not a bunch of soft-footed ponies!"
"A wildfire ago"
Definition: Many years ago; play on “a while ago.”
Origin: Phoenixes; refers to their process of death and rebirth, which occurs intermittently between very long lifespans. Sometimes “a conflagration ago,” a play on “a generation ago,” is used to denote an especially significant stretch of time.
Example: “Many wildfires ago, I knew a man who claimed he could sell anything.”