In the term, "let bigons be bigons", what is a bigon?

It's a misspelling of the idiomatic phrase "let bygones be bygones," which The Free Dictionary describes: "forget about unpleasant things that have happened in the past". What's done is done; don't worry about the past, especially past errors or grievances.

According to Phrases.org in the 15th century, a bygone was simply 'a thing that has gone by', that is, a thing of the past. Shakespeare used it with that meaning in The Winters Tale, 1611:

This satisfaction, The by-gone-day proclaym'd, say this to him.

As time progressed, bygones came to refer specifically to past events that had an unpleasant tinge to them; for example, quarrels or debts. The Scottish churchman Samuel Rutherford recorded that usage of the phrase in a letter during his detention in Aberdeen in 1636. In the letter he regrets the follies of his youth and acknowledges his debt to God in showing him the error of his ways:

"Pray that byegones betwixt me and my Lord may be byegones."

Learn 5 Must-Know Tips on Teaching Idioms from Busy Teacher and check out the 50 most useful idioms and their meaning compiled by Smart-Words.org.

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Monday, February 22 2016