Expanding Lexicon

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Expanding Lexicon

Episode 6

Cooking With Gas

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Welcome to Expanding Lexicon the story behind the things we say. Today’s episode is about an Idiom.

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What is today’s topic? Cooking with gas. Today this idiom can be used to describe someone who is working fast, something that is happening rapidly, or functioning effectively (American Idioms (Meanings and Origins)). Example: Look Sue is winning the race, she is really cooking with gas. It can also be used to show something gaining pace after a period of trial and error (Barba). Example: after struggling to install the first window now that Jack knows what he’s doing he is really cooking with gas.

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In the early 1900’s a new innovation in kitchen technology hit the stores. What was it? Stoves! Both electric and natural gas stoves hit the market around the same time in a bid to replace wood fired stoves (Barba). The two technologies were in fierce competition to gain buyers and convince homeowners that their technology was superior (Loboy).

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With little advertising budget Deke Houlgate an executive of the American Gas Association or AGA came up with a new idea (Holloman). He coined the phrase “Now we’re cooking with gas.” The phrase was meant to show the ease, speed and superiority of gas over electric or wood fired stoves. Sometime in the mid to late 1930’s Houlgate called Bob Hope’s script writers and convinced them to put the line in Hope’s comedy radio show. The phrase became one on Hope’s signature sayings and is one of the first instances of influencer marketing long before the advent of television, celebrity advertising and Instagram influencers (Goodly).

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The phrase, cooking with gas, gained popularity, and evolved to its current use and meaning, over the next decade. Comedian Jack Benny began using it in the early 40’s followed by some movie appearances (Loboy). In a 1943 Loony Toons, Daffy Duck finds himself in an oven and exclaims “Now we’re cooking with gas!” (Barba). 

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Due to its creation and popularization in a very short timeframe this idiom became ingrained in the lexicon of the silent generation but has caught on less and less with future generations until it has nearly disappeared from everyday use (disappearing idioms).  That is until the AGA started a new advertising campaign in the fall of 2018 #cookingwithgas (Holloman).

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In its campaign the American Gas Association actively working on rebooting the disappearing slogan into a new one.  The AGA is reminding the American public that natural gas has evolved over the past 80 years moving into heating homes, water, and stoves (Holloman). Here’s a quote from their new advertisements “there's a reason why 'Cooking With Gas' is synonymous with speed and efficiency. We talked to 10 of the top chefs from across the country – from New York to Los Angeles – and the answer is clear: the only way to cook is with natural gas. In the fast-paced restaurant industry, chefs demand the quickness, control and reliability of #CookingWithGas (AGA, INGAA).”

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From radio catchphrase to Instagram hashtag cooking with gas has made the leap from one of the first influencer campaigns to a modern marketing slogan. Saved from the brink of extinction tis idiom is back in use thanks to the continuing marketing efforts of the AGA.

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Thank you for listening to today’s episode. 6 episodes down and we’re really cooking with gas!

 

Works Cited

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“American Idioms (Meanings and Origins) [A thru H].” American Idioms (Meanings and Origins) , Pride UnLimited, www.pride-unlimited.com/probono/idioms1.html.

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Barba, Alisa. “IE Questions: Now We're ‘Cooking With Gas.’” Inside Energy, 31 Oct. 2014, insideenergy.org/2014/06/26/ie-questions-now-were-cooking-with-gas/.

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“Cooking with Gas.” Disappearing Idioms, 11 Feb. 2013, disappearingidioms.com/hello-world-2/.

“Cooking With Gas.” Why Cook With Gas?, AGA, INGAA, cookingwithgas.org/why-cook-with-gas/.

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Hazzard, Alisen. “‘Cooking with Gas’...” A Way with Words, 12 Sept. 2014, www.waywordradio.org/cooking-with-gas-origin/.

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Holloman, Cha'Mia. “Eighty Years Later and We're Still ‘Cooking with Gas.’” True Blue Natural Gas An Energy Blog from the American Gas Association AGA, AGA, www.truebluenaturalgas.org/years-cooking-gas/.

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Loboy, Jim. “Nugget of Knowledge: Cooking with Gas.” WYTV, WYTV, 26 Feb. 2018, www.wytv.com/news/daybreak/nugget-of-knowledge-cooking-with-gas/1097443781.

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Terban, Marvin. Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms. Scholastic Reference, 1996.

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Unknown. “Influencer Marketing: Cooking with Gas.” Goodly, 23 June 2016, blog.themightycopywriter.com/2016/06/influencer-marketing-cooking-with-gas.html.