The Simple Things

Taking time to live well
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Taking Time to Live Well

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Photography: Anneliese Klos and Liz Boyd

Language | Buttons

Iona Bower March 12, 2024

We defy anyone not to smile at the sight of a tin of buttons, so we’re taking a moment to consider the humble button and its place in the English language.


The word ‘button’ comes from the Old French ‘boton’ meaning ‘bud. ‘Bouter’ means to thrust or push - like a bud bursting into bloom, you see? - and we guess, like the way a button pushes through a button hole. It’s all starting to make sense. It’s striking how much buttons crop up in metaphors, sayings and phraseology, though. 

Should you be ‘as bright as a button’, you’re probably smart and quick-witted enough to spot the double meaning of bright as in shiny and bright as in clever. Or perhaps you’re as ‘cute as a button’, a phrase some think refers to a button quail, which were allegedly very cute little birds indeed. 

If you’re less cute and more prone to angry outbursts you might ‘bust your buttons’ in reference to Bruce Banner, whose shirt would bust open, buttons popping all over the place, whenever anger turned him into his alter ego, Hulk. On the other hand you might bust your buttons because you have swelled with pride, although perhaps not with pride at your own sewing skills.

And don’t boast about the source of that pride too much or you might be asked to ‘button your lip’, a phrase originating in The States, used as a (slightly) politer way of asking someone to stop talking. This is less likely to be a problem if you’re the sort of person one would describe as ‘buttoned up’, meaning excessively conservative in appearance or approach; not the sort to loosen your collar, much less let your hair down or chat away garrulously. 

Fascinating stuff. And if you wish to share it with friends who seem less fascinated than we are, you may want to ‘buttonhole’ them, that is to grab them by the buttonholes on their coat to prevent their escape while you talk at them. 

And with that, we’ll button it. 

The buttons pictured above are from our March issue’s back cover, the first of a new series we’re calling ‘Treasures’. We hope you like it.

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InThink Tagsissue 141, buttons, what I treasure
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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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