Jesse asks: Why are the notes taken at a meeting called the “minutes”? Was this because the note taker records the notes along with the time? Not quite. In fact, the “minutes” here have nothing to do with time, but rather “small”, as in “minute” (my-newt). “Minutes” in this sense first popped up in the early 18th century, possibly directly […]
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Today I found out the “ye” as in “Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe” should be pronounced “the”. The “Ye” here is not the “ye” as in “Judge not, that ye (you) be not judged”, but is rather a remnant of the letter “thorn” or “þorn” (Þ, þ). The letter thorn was used in Old Norse, Old English-Middle English, Gothic, and Icelandic […]
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Today I found out the origin of the phrase “blonde bombshell”. “Blonde bombshell” is often used to describe an exciting, dynamic, sexy woman with blonde hair, particularly blonde celebrity sex symbols. The expression seems to have come from, or at least was popularized by, a movie and originally referred to a specific blonde bombshell. In 1933, the platinum blonde Jean […]
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S.Belsky asks: Where did the phrase “take a gander” come from? What the hell is a “gander” and why would I want to take it? As you are no doubt aware, but for those who aren’t familiar with the phrase, “take a gander” is an expression meaning “take a look”, “get a peek”, “check it out”, etc. It first popped […]
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Frank Hintz: What is the origin of the word “tip” (as in leaving a tip)? You may have heard that the few hundred year old definition of “tip”, as referring to gratuity, comes from “To Insure Promptness” or similar backronyms, but this isn’t correct. In fact, pretty much anytime you’ve ever heard of a word that originated before the 20th […]
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J.Kaus asks: Why are Grandfather clocks called Grandfather clocks? At first glance, the answer seems obvious. Think about it- when was the last time you saw a grandfather clock in the house of anyone under the age of 70? Grandfather clocks- with their long cases, pendulums, echoing chimes, and Roman numerals- seem to belong to the world of courting parlors, […]
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Today I found out a man once tried to raise his son as a native speaker in Klingon. The man in question is computational linguist Dr. d’Armond Speers. Speers is actually not a huge Start Trek fan himself. Indeed, many Klingon language enthusiasts aren’t, contrary to popular perception. They tend to be language lovers fascinated by constructed languages, of which […]
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Today I found out the origin of the word “lukewarm”. You’ve probably wondered why we have the word “lukewarm” for describing something that is only slightly warm. Why not “stevewarm” or “beckywarm”? Well if you didn’t before, hopefully you’re wondering now. It turns out, while today using “luke” to mean “warm” has gone out of fashion, possibly due to the […]
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Jesse L. asks: Why are the Oscars called the Oscars? No one is 100% sure, though the popular theory is that the nickname for the “The Academy Award of Merit”, as it is actually named, was coined by Academy Award librarian and future Director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick. Supposedly she bestowed the nickname […]
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You should know the difference between “farther” and “further”. Many people use “further” and “farther” interchangeable, but, in fact, they mean slightly different things. “Farther” refers to a physical distance, while “further” refers to a figurative distance. So, when wondering how many more miles or kilometers to a particular destination, you’d say, “How much farther to the gas station?” On […]
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Today I found out where the word “jaywalking” came from. For those not familiar with this term (i.e. many people outside of the United States), jaywalking is when, “A pedestrian… crosses a street without regard to traffic regulations.” (OED) For instance, depending on where one lives, it may be against the law to cross a street where there is a […]
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Reference
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Maine is the only state in the United States whose name has only one syllable. There is one U.S. territory that also has only one syllable, the island nation of Guam.
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The term “latrine” comes from the Latin “lavare”, which means “to wash”. The earliest references to this word being used in English goes all the way back to the mid-17th century. As an aside, the term “toilet” comes from the French “toilette”, meaning “dressing room”. “Toilette” in turn derives from the French “toile”, meaning “cloth”. During the 17th century, the […]
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Chelsea asks: Why are potatoes called “spuds”? Among other definitions, a “spud” is a “sharp, narrow spade” used to dig up large rooted plants. Around the mid-19th century (first documented reference in 1845 in New Zealand), this implement of destruction began lending its name to one of the things it was often used to dig up, namely potatoes. This caught […]
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There are some words that change their meaning based on whether the first letter is capitalized or not. These words are collectively known as “capitonyms”. These capitonyms are particularly troublesome when they appear at the beginning of a sentence, as there is no way, based on the single word alone, to tell which meaning is being referred to. Examples of […]
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The difference between bacon and salted pork or ham is primarily just the composition of the brine that is used to cure it. Brine for bacon often includes sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, and saltpeter (for curing the meat); sodium ascorbate (for setting the color, as well as speeding up the curing process); and brown or maple sugar (for flavor), among […]
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The first president of the United States, George Washington, upon his death bed told his attendants “I am just going. Have me decently buried and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead. Do you understand?” He was terrified of accidentally being buried while he was still alive. Among […]
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