hallettj

Thinking out loud, I think the reason those salons became famous is because the participants published, and their publications got a lot of attention. An example that springs to my mind is the Vienna Circle. But maybe a better example is Madame Geoffrin’s salon which hosted French nobles and Enlightenment thinkers. In that case too the attendees either published, or were powerful figures in society.

The format is a smallish group of people discussing ideas, probably with some connecting theme. It seems like historically those themes were broad, like “philosophy”, with a focus on debate. If some of the people involved turn out to be important to society you’ve got yourself a historically-significant organization. If not then hopefully everyone had a good time.

“By and large” is a weird one. It’s meaning is along the same lines as “all other things being equal.” Is it a reference to large sample sizes?

It’s made weirder by the fictional corporation name in Wall-E, “Buy 'n Large”

My wife has worked with lots of people who are not native English speakers who are sometimes taken aback by the idioms. One colleague flat out refused to accept that “FOMO” is a word.

I suggested that she is in a position to make some up, like “Let’s not put fish in the milk bucket.” But she didn’t go for it. I guess she’s not an agent of chaos after all :/

I know there are lots of possible origins for this phrase, but I think of it as “pleases” and “thank yous”. The “k” sound from “thank” followed by the word “you” combine to sound like the letter q.