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Results tagged with origin-unknown
Search options questions only
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user 36232
Words and phrases whose origin is unknown or in serious dispute, according to reputable reference works.
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In what context did the noun 'countdown' first emerge, and when did the word first appear in...
A recent EL&U question (What does “and counting” in “Bits of plastic in oceans: 5.25 trillion and counting” mean?) led to a discussion of counting up versus counting down. In the course of that discus …
- 169k
15
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3
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Source of 'BB' in the sense of 'small, spherical pellet of shot'
Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003) has the following entry for BB:
BB n (1845) 1 : a shot pellet 0.18 inch in diameter for use in a shotgun cartridge 2 : a shot pellet 0.175 inch …
- 169k
2
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1
answer
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Are “bunk” and “bunker” directly related?
When did the term bunk (in the sense of sleeping berth) arise, and what if any connection does it have to the noun bunker?
Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003) gives a first occur …
- 169k
10
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2
answers
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Origin of the term 'truther' as applied to conspiracy theorists
Today's Oakland [California] Tribune has a story from the Palm Beach [Florida] Post carrying the headline, "Sandy Hook truther fired by college." The story is evidently quite similar to one that appea …
- 169k
7
votes
1
answer
2k
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Origin and earliest recorded use of 'fungo'
In baseball, a fungo bat is, according to Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003), "a long thin bat used for hitting fungoes," and a fungo is either "a fly ball hit esp. for practice f …
- 169k
15
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8
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Origin, meaning, and derivation of 'boof' as a verb in U.S. slang
Recently, the following entry included in a page from a 1983 yearbook for a high school in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area has gained considerable notoriety in U.S. politics:
Judge — Have You …
- 169k
24
votes
2
answers
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Did ‘alakazam’ magically appear out of the thin air?
I doubt it. But when did alakazam enter English, where did it come from, and who first used it?
I vaguely recall the TV magic show The Magic Land of Allakazam (1960–1964) from my Texas childhood, and …
- 169k
17
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4
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4k
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Etymological origin and earliest recorded occurrence of 'saunter' in English
Someone just sent me a quotation from the explorer/naturalist John Muir, in which he makes the following etymological claim:
Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away b …
- 169k
7
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1
answer
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What connection (if any) is there in Australian slang between 'dinkum' and 'dink' (meaning a...
In an answer to the recent question, What is the American equivalent of a "backie"? site participant Chappo notes that in Australia the word dink is sometimes used as a noun to mean "a lift on a bicyc …
- 169k
6
votes
1
answer
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Origin of the saying "God must love the poor because he made so many of them"
The saying "God must love the poor [or the common people or the plain people] because he made so many of them" falls somewhere between a proverb and a famous quotation, but its origins are rather murk …
- 169k
12
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2
answers
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Why does a Cheshire cat grin, and how long has it been doing so?
Most people are familiar with the expression "grin like a Cheshire cat" from Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (1865), which goes so far as to provide a glimpse of the grin without the cat. But the …
- 169k
5
votes
4
answers
9k
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Where did 'cahoot" come from, when did it first appear, and how did it acquire its pejorativ...
According to Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003), cahoot, meaning a partnership or league, and usually expressed in the plural form "in cahoots," has a first known publication date …
- 169k
4
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2
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Where, when, and how did the term 'dogie' for 'orphan calf' originate?
Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003) has this brief entry for the word dogie:
dogie n {origin unknown} (1888) chiefly West : a motherless calf in a range herd
In seeking an explan …
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