The expression “attack a button” is used to indicate when a person starts a long conversation and often boring with someone, often wasting others’ time. Anyone who strikes up a conversation is generally considered a annoyingsomeone who speaks for a long time without the interlocutor being particularly interested in what he is saying. The term can refer to useless chatter, long-winded speeches and, in general, to an interaction that one would prefer to avoid. Another use of the expression is also often used in more specific social contexts, such as when trying to start a conversation with a girl or boy. In this case, “attacking a conversation” takes on an almost nuance of approachwhere the goal is to break the ice, start a dialogue or just get acquainted. However, if the speech is uninteresting or repetitive, you risk being considered boring or annoying. But where exactly does the expression “attack a conversation” come from? This saying does not have a clear and defined origin: there are various interesting theories that mainly concern the world of tailoring and of medicine.
One of the most common theories on the origin of this expression is linked precisely to sartorial world. In fact, it is hypothesized that “attaching a button” derives from the practice of the tailor who, while taking measurements and sewing a button on the customer, often chatted to pass the time. This required the customer to sit still and, inevitably, listen to sometimes long and boring conversations.
Equally accredited is the theory according to which the origin should be sought in medicinein particular to the practice of cauterization: A method used to burn tissue for healing purposes. In ancient medicine, this procedure was carried out with an instrument called “cautery“, the end of which had the shape of a button. The reference to the “button” is documented already in 1475 in the Short citrus making practice Of Mathia Mercader, a veterinary medicine text, where the end of the instrument is compared to a button, therefore also known as a “fire button”, used to seal wounds or treat injuries, often causing intense pain and discomfort, similar to that of a prolonged and unwanted conversation.
The extension of the meaning “to strike up a conversation” from possible medical practice to figurative expression occurred gradually, but the first documentation of this metaphorical use is much later. In fact, one of the earliest examples dates back to the writings of Antonio Gramsci In the 1930in which “attacking a conversation” takes on a broader meaning, indicating an insistent and boring conversation, which creates a discomfort similar to that caused by cautery.
