Pop the question - and other pops

By Hermione Gray

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VALENTINE'S DAY, with its associations with romance, has become a traditional day to propose marriage - or 'pop' the question. 'Pop' in this case, means unexpected, because the question supposedly comes as a surprise.

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The word 'pop' has a variety of meanings, from father (short for 'poppa'), a fizzy fruit-flavoured drink ('have a glass of pop') to a short time ('I'll just pop over').

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The best-known use of the word 'pop' is probably in connection with music, where the 'pop' is short for popular. It is used to describe accessible, commercial music�that is aimed at a wide range of people, particularly teenagers.

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In the mid-1950s, the term 'pop art' was coined by Lawrence Alloway to describe art�that refers to popular culture, such as comic strips or soup cans.

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(According to the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the first time the word 'pop' was actually used in art was Eduardo Paolozzi's picture I Was a Rich Man's Plaything, in which a pistol pointed at a pin-up is going 'pop'.)

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The word 'pop' also features in this much-repeated nursery rhyme, written in the mid-19th century by W. R. Mandale:

'Up and down the City Road
In and out of The Eagle
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel'

The Eagle, a tavern and theatre in London's City Road, was a busy Saturday night venue, and going 'in and out' required a good supply of cash. Hence, the need to 'pop' (pawn) the 'weasel' (possibly a tailor's iron, or a coat - from the rhyming slang 'weasel and stoat'). A pop shop is another way of describing a pawn shop.

• Other 'pop' expressions:
  Pop one's clogs - to die unexpectedly.
  Take a pop at - to physically attack or criticise.
  Make one's eyes pop - a reaction where a person's eyes open wide and bulge, as if to 'pop' out.