Weird Things
From an article at nyppost.com by Billy Heller, edited by yours truly: In a new book, The Hidden History of Coined Words, Ralph Keyes reveals the surprising origins of common words.
“Nerd” was first used in 1950 by Dr. Suess’ in If I Ran the Zoo, which his estate is pulling out of print.
In a 1953 column, Walter Winchell asked, “Howz about calling the Russians our Frienemies?”
“Booty” goes way back to the Elizabethan era when it was “slang for genitalia, a play on body.” And in 1941 Fats Waller co-wrote and recorded a song Come and Get It that has the line: “I’ve gotta get myself some booty.”
In a 1897 fairy tale collection, British author Evelyn Sharp introduced a group of children who pulled pranks on others but broke into tears when the same was done to them. She called them the Wymps.
During WWII western observers in China heard a slogan used by Chinese worker-soldier teams — “kung” meaning work, and “ho,” together. Colonel Evans Carlson anglicized it to gung ho, the Battle Cry of the Marine Raiders.
Dow Chemical Co. chemist Jack Riley named Saran Wrap for his wife Sarah and daughter Ann.
The BBC’s Fred Hoyle, an astrophysicist, never dreamed a term he came up with would last: “Big Bang.”
“Tabloid” originates from a trademarked name a British company used to describe a small medicinal tablet.
“Robot” comes from the Czech word robota, as in involuntary worker, coined by the brother of playwright Karel Capek, author of R.U.R..
“Guy” comes from Guy Fawkes, convicted and executed for his part in a plot to blow up Britain’s House of Lords.
And my own research has discovered that “Slimeball” was first used to describe the world’s first politicians.
How long before the following is pulled from various venues?
The NY Post has come up with another great headline, this one referring to the state of the city’s streets: “Pig Apple.” I won’t post a pic to illustrate the ugliness.
According to an article at foxnews.com, Customs and Border Protection encountered 100,441 individuals at the southern border in February, a 28% increase over January.
It was a tough session of the floating book shop once shade engulfed the area. The sun had taken the sting out of the wind until then. My thanks to the kind folks who bought, swapped and donated. Here’s what sold: five books in Russian, Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael Shermer; The New Testament in Hebrew; How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers) by Seneca, James S. Romm; a WWII pictorial; the massive Scribners Dictionary; the illustrated Children’s Dictionary; and a paperback that featured work by Fern Michaels and others.
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