Is "throw in an ape" an expression?

Question

In her book Toward Zero, author Agatha Christie has the following dialogue:

Kay said: ‘I don’t like my colour scheme in the livingroom. Can I have it done over, Nevile?’

‘Anything you like, beautiful.’

‘Peacock blue,’ said Kay dreamily, ‘and ivory satin cushions.’

‘You’ll have to throw in an ape,’ said Nevile.

‘You can be the ape,’ said Kay.

What on earth is that supposed to mean, "throw in an ape"? I have no idea. Is that an expression?

DJClayworth · Accepted Answer · 2023-03-16T13:43:03.293

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It's not an expression. It's a reference to a poem Cargoes by John Masefield. It was extremely popular in Agatha Christie's time, and most of her readers would be familiar with it.

The first stanza goes:

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine

Kay has asked for peacock and ivory to be in her decor, and Nevile says she will have to "throw in" (i.e. include) an ape to complete the set.

The poem itself references a Bible passage (1 Kings 10:22 and 2 Chronicles 9:21)

Once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

edited Mar 16 '23 at 13:43

answered Mar 14 '23 at 21:57

DJClayworth

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Well, well, I would not have found that in a million years. Thanks. – thedude Mar 14 '23 at 22:40
More recently, "throw an ape" or "go ape" is sometimes used to indicate an episode of immoderate rage. – Mark Morgan Lloyd Mar 15 '23 at 10:25
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did you just know this or did you find it out? – WendyG Mar 15 '23 at 11:37
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Well that's certainly a "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra"... – Darth Pseudonym Mar 15 '23 at 12:16
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@WendyG I knew the poem, and recognized the list of items. – DJClayworth Mar 15 '23 at 15:24
@DarthPseudonym speaking of "Darmoks and Jalads at Tanagra"... – JohnFilleau Mar 15 '23 at 20:40
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The "throw in" part is an expression; the meaning "include as part of an offer" is not at all obvious from a literal gloss of the words. – Karl Knechtel Mar 15 '23 at 20:49
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Brits of a certain age will know the poem. My class had Cargoes as one term's poetry project around 1963 at school in London. I was aged 11. Lots of work. What is a smoke-stack? Why was it salt-caked? What is a coaster? A quinquireme? Where is Ophir? Nineveh? (see Kipling!) How do tin trays differ from sandalwood? etc etc. Masefield was Poet Laureate at the time. – Michael Harvey Mar 16 '23 at 09:53
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The fun of finding out that nobody knows where Ophir was! – Michael Harvey Mar 16 '23 at 09:59
@JohnFilleau That's the joke. – Darth Pseudonym Mar 16 '23 at 16:07
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@DarthPseudonym were you making the meta-joke that Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra is itself a Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra? Because that was my joke. I didn't pick that up from you. My bad. – JohnFilleau Mar 16 '23 at 16:20
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@JohnFilleau Yeah, using the phrase D&J@T is automatically a self-referencing joke because you could have said "an obscure allusion". – Darth Pseudonym Mar 16 '23 at 18:35
@Michael Harvey I must be of a certain age :) I was taught the same poem in a UK school in about 1963 and still know it word perfect, and still love it. – Flynn Mar 21 '23 at 17:19

score 14 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 16 '23 at 17:14

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DJClayworth’s answer explains the humurous allusion in the line, but it’s worth also explaining the idiomatic meaning of the sentence (independently of the allusion), which would be clear to most native British speakers but may not be obvious to non-natives.

In many contexts, especially negotiation/bargaining, to throw in something means to add it to the offer under discussion. “This bicycle is a hundred dollars.” “Too expensive, it’s old and rusty.” “I’ll throw in the lock and lights as well.” “OK, it’s a deal.” In the linked quote, Kay and Nevile are discussing redecorating the room, and Kay has described what she wants in the new decoration. In that context, Nevile’s “You’ll have to throw in an ape” means “you should add an ape to your proposed decorations”.

answered Mar 16 '23 at 17:14

PLL

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As a native American speaker I immediately went to this interpretation even though I was not aware of the poem to have any idea why an ape should be added. – Loren Pechtel Mar 16 '23 at 23:31
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Where is the bargaining, the negotiation and the dealing between the two protagonists? In the Agatha Christie's excerpt, the "peacock blue", the white (ivory) satin cushions, refer to the room's colour scheme. The "throw in", whose meaning is easily deducible for advanced learners, means add. Neville's remark is a witticism, of course there is no suggestion that she should actually include an ape. Extra info: The detective novel was first printed in 1944 whereas the poem, which I have never heard of until today despite being born in London in 1966, was published in 1902. – Mari-Lou A Mar 17 '23 at 11:40

Is "throw in an ape" an expression?

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