from the trenches of WWI: ‘cootie’ (‘body louse’)

3rd Jan 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

from army use on the Western Front during World War One: ‘cootie’, ‘body louse’, ‘cooty’, ‘infested with lice’, ‘coot’, ‘louse’, probably ultimately refer to the aquatic bird called ‘coot’, reputed to be lice-infested

British, U.S. and French soldiers’ slang during WWI

2nd Jan 2018.Reading time 12 minutes.

some characteristic slang creations of the British, U.S. and French soldiers during World War One, as recorded in ‘Trench Talk’, published in Everybody’s Magazine (New York) of January 1918

The literal meaning of ‘cappuccino’ is ‘Capuchin’.

1st Jan 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

USA, 1948—espresso coffee mixed with steamed milk—borrowed from Italian ‘cappuccino’, literally ‘Capuchin’, because the colour of this type of coffee resembles that of a Capuchin’s habit—cf. French ‘capucin’ (= ‘Capuchin’), a name for the hare, from the colour of the animal’s fur

‘See you later, alligator’ originated in U.S. teenagers’ slang.

29th Dec 2017.Reading time 9 minutes.

The colloquial see you later, alligator, which originated in American English, is a catchphrase used on parting. The expected response is in, or after, a while, crocodile. —Cf. also notes on ‘see you later, agitator’. The earliest instance of see you later, alligator that I have found is from Teenagers’ Slang Expressions Are Explained by […]

the changing identities of the doryphore

27th Dec 2017.Reading time 11 minutes.

Greek ‘δορυϕόρος’ (‘doruphόros’) meant ‘spearman’; in French, ‘doryphore’ denotes the Colorado beetle and the German occupying forces during WWII; in English, it denotes a pedantic and annoyingly persistent critic.

‘Hands down’ originated in horse racing.

21st Dec 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

19th century—The adverb ‘hands down’ originated in horse racing: a jockey who is winning comfortably is able to lower his hands and relax his hold on the reins.

folk-etymological origin of ‘squirrel’

21st Dec 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

Greek ‘skíouros’, ultimate origin of ‘squirrel’: folk-etymologically interpreted as meaning ‘shadow-tailed’ because when the animal sits erect, it raises its tail up against its back and over its head as if to shade itself

origin of ‘Shrovetide’ (‘les jours gras’)

20th Dec 2017.Reading time 11 minutes.

Etymologically, ‘Shrovetide’ denotes the period during which it was customary to attend confession in preparation for Lent—but this period was also marked by feasting before the Lenten fast.

the story of ‘greengrocer’s apostrophe’, a.k.a. ‘apostrofly’

19th Dec 2017.Reading time 2 minutes.

UK, ‘greengrocer’s apostrophe’ – ‘apostrofly’: the mistaken use of an apostrophe, especially its insertion before the final ‘s’ of an ordinary plural form

origin of ‘Bombay duck’

19th Dec 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

‘Bombay’: alteration after the city’s name of ‘bummalo’, the name of the fish—‘duck’: common dishes were humorously called by the names of superior ones

word histories

Tag: animals