Professor Muffit's Word Births!!!

[Muffit]

Of course FG!!! Feel free to share anywhere! P.S. Sorry I missed Friday, but my family and I trekked all the way to Frisco for a true mini-vacation, and didn't get back till after midnight.


Saturday's Lesson!!!

Ever wonder where our stars get their names from? It seems that Dirk's last name fits him to a tee even better than the Starbuck appellation. "Benedict" stems from the venerable saint and means a bachelor of marriagable age! LOL!!


Spam - you Monty Pythoners out there will appreciate this one. Back in 1936, Hormel faced a lot of copying for its popular mixture of pork shoulder, ham, salt, sugar and sodium nitrate, often called "special ham". So it held a contest, and one Kenneth Daigneau won (a mere $100) for his conjunction of "s" for shoulder, "p" for pork and "am" from ham (or did he just cheat and combine "special ham"?). Hormel has since sold over 5 /billion/ cans of the stuff!!!


Salary - you may not believe this, but our word actually comes from "salt". In Roman times, salt was very highly valued, and soldiers were often paid their wages in salt, hence our word "salary".

Paradise - this actually comes to us from ancient Persia. In that arid inhospitable land, the Persian kings often built lush garden getaways, truly something special in a land of deserts. The Greeks borrowed the term and made it their "paradeisos", or "park". The translators of the Septuagint, being Greek, then used it for the Garden of Eden, and later biblical scholars used it as a euphemism for heaven.

See you tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

[Ethan]

Ethan raises his hand in class-
I heard an explanation for "minding your P's and Q"s" the other day referring to Irish drinking. Is this true? Do you have an alternate explanation for this?
Ethan

[The 14th Colony]

Howsomever, that leaves us with a rather embarassing definition for our favorite show - somehow Battlestar Lactose-Free doesn't ring quite so ominously, LOL!!!

Hey!!! Maybe we should commandeer that big buzz expression, "Got Milk???" ROTFL!!!

That should be Apollo's battle cry in the BSG continuation movie, to the Cylons, "Got milk?" and then "Fire torpedos, give 'em milk!"

[The 14th Colony]

I have to say, Muffit, you are a mind boggling always ready to spill, vessel of packed knowledge!

[Muffit]

Hi Ethan! I love questions! Go to the head of the class!!!


Yes, many do believe that "mind your p's and q's" came from the pints and quarts of English pubs. My skeptical resource notes here that barroom anecdotes are often attached to things, and that this is not for certain, although it is possible of course.

It cites that it was, in fact, an admonition to English schoolchildren to be careful not to reverse the stems on their p's and q's, since when we are learning to write that often happens.

Where exactly it comes from we may never know, but it sure is fun to guess!!!

[thomas7g]

In the days of sail when Sailors were paid a pittance, seamen drank their ale in taverns whose keepers were willing to extend credit until payday. Since many salts were illiterate, keepers kept a tally of pints and quarts consumed by each Sailor on a chalkboard behind the bar. Next to each person's name, a mark was made under "P" for pint or "Q" for quart whenever a seaman ordered another draught.

On payday, each seaman was liable for each mark next to his name, so he was forced to "mind his P's and Q's" or he would get into financial trouble. To ensure an accurate count by unscrupulous keepers, Sailors had to keep their wits and remain somewhat sober. Sobriety usually ensured good behavior, hence the meaning of "mind your P's and Q's."

[Muffit]

Thanks Thomas! Yep, I've heard that too. I tend to think pints and quarts is the right origin myself, the thick book I'm using tends to diss a lot of stuff most of us have always believed. Maybe the author just wants to be contrary(?) So Pints and Quarts it is!!!!!!!!! Thomas, go to the head of the class!!!

[shiningstar]

I don't know but "I" Want MORE posts

You there Muffit?

[Muffit]

Hi Shiningstar!! Yep, I will be back this afternoon with more goodies!!!

[shiningstar]

Originally Posted by Muffit

Hi Shiningstar!! Yep, I will be back this afternoon with more goodies!!!

Excellent I'm waiting

[Muffit]

Eeks! I lost track of the time! I have been visiting with a retired naval chief and got so caught up in his stories of WWII I completely forgot the time!


So I'll have to do yesterday AND today!!!



Sunday:
=====
galoot - 19th century sailor's term for a landlubber, now used mainly as "big galoot" for any clumsy person


gaffer - very old term for an old man, probably a contraction of "grandfather". In England there is also a "gammer" for grandmother, but we yanks never use it. In film, the gaffer is the chief electrician...


pupil - from the Latin word pupullus, or "little boy", since girls did not attend school back in ancient Greece and Rome.



Monday:
=====
pomegranate - from the Latin "many-seeded apple". We still call them Chinese apples today. And "grenade" also comes from this root, a shortening of the French word "pomegrenade", since early grenades used to be filled with seed like powder.

grog - oddly, this term has come to mean a strong and nasty brew that pirates drank. In truth, it was the opposite - Sir Edward Vernon, of George Washington's acquaintance, used to wear a grogram cloak he wore on deck in all kinds of weather (they called him "Old Grog"). Upset that his men got into fights after their ample ration of rum, he diluted it to almost nothing and even then spread the rations out 6 hours apart. His men, clearly upset (because life aboard ship in the early 1700's was ONLY ameliorated by rum, LOL), nicknamed the contemptable stuff "grog" after their Admiral. So grog originally meant the equivalent of watered down beer rather than a strong brew as we know it today


groovy - this heralds back to the old phonograph days of the 30's to 50's. When a phonograph was playing well, the needle stayed "in the groove" rather than jumping out and skipping, hence our modern term. Oddly, in England it meant the opposite, as in being in a rut.


See ya again tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!
Professor Muffit

[Archangel]

Pretty cool, Muffit!

[shiningstar]

Originally Posted by Muffit

Eeks! I lost track of the time! I have been visiting with a retired naval chief and got so caught up in his stories of WWII I completely forgot the time!


So I'll have to do yesterday AND today!!!



Sunday:
=====
galoot - 19th century sailor's term for a landlubber, now used mainly as "big galoot" for any clumsy person


gaffer - very old term for an old man, probably a contraction of "grandfather". In England there is also a "gammer" for grandmother, but we yanks never use it. In film, the gaffer is the chief electrician...


pupil - from the Latin word pupullus, or "little boy", since girls did not attend school back in ancient Greece and Rome.



Monday:
=====
pomegranate - from the Latin "many-seeded apple". We still call them Chinese apples today. And "grenade" also comes from this root, a shortening of the French word "pomegrenade", since early grenades used to be filled with seed like powder.

grog - oddly, this term has come to mean a strong and nasty brew that pirates drank. In truth, it was the opposite - Sir Edward Vernon, of George Washington's acquaintance, used to wear a grogram cloak he wore on deck in all kinds of weather (they called him "Old Grog"). Upset that his men got into fights after their ample ration of rum, he diluted it to almost nothing and even then spread the rations out 6 hours apart. His men, clearly upset (because life aboard ship in the early 1700's was ONLY ameliorated by rum, LOL), nicknamed the contemptable stuff "grog" after their Admiral. So grog originally meant the equivalent of watered down beer rather than a strong brew as we know it today


groovy - this heralds back to the old phonograph days of the 30's to 50's. When a phonograph was playing well, the needle stayed "in the groove" rather than jumping out and skipping, hence our modern term. Oddly, in England it meant the opposite, as in being in a rut.


See ya again tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!
Professor Muffit

LOVE IT Muffit! keep Posting!

[Muffit]

It's Tuesday class!!! Time for a pop Geometry Quiz!!!


1). Connect the dot .


That's it!!! Did you pass???

Okay, now for some word trivia!!

"Little Jack Horner" - this is actually based on the actions of the steward to the abbot of Glastonbury, who was delivering some land documents hidden in a pie to Henry VIII. He "stuck in his thumb, and pulled out a PLUM", and what a plum it was!! He then became owner of all that land.


"Leave no stone unturned" - this actually came from the advice of the famous Oracle of Delphi in ancient times. The Theban general Polycrates asked the oracle how to find the treasure of teh vanquished Persians, and that was her reply. It worked, and has been with us ever since. Oh, Ogden Nash made a nice pun for this, about throwing rocks at seabirds: "I leave no tern unstoned"

[Archangel]

LOL! Excellent!

[shiningstar]

Originally Posted by Archangel

LOL! Excellent!

I soooooooooo agree

[Muffit]

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Oops! I slipped again, Teach' forgot to teach yesterday!!!

Wednesdays Words:
==============
"Okay/OK" - this is believed to have come from the nickname of Martin Van Buren, who rose from potboy (isn't that the kid who holds the pot while drunks pee?) in a tavern to President. In an attempt to mudsling, the now famous "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" campaign nicknamed him "Old Kinderhook", from his hometown. The Democratics abbreviated it to try and undo its meaning, and even formed a rallying cry out of it. Thus O.K. came to be "okay", rather than derogatory.


"Shot in the arm" - no, believe it or not, this did not come from hospital usage. An anonymous drug addict coined it in the early 20's cuz his fixes were a "pick me up"


Thursday's Words
============
"deadline" - this comes from the Confederate prison of Andersonville. There was a line drawn 17 feet from the camp fence. Any prisoner who crossed it was shot dead. Reporters later borrowed it to mean a story not turned in early enough.

"ginseng" - this aphrodisiac stems from the Chinese term "jen-shen", or "man-herb"

"hat trick" - from the 1800's sport of cricket. A bowler who bowled down 3 wickets with 3 successive balls was awarded a new hat, or a hat was passed around to award him money.

"manure" - oddly, this actually came from the French word for manual labor. Originally meant to imply the cultivation of the soil, it later meant the fertilizing of it.

See ya tomorrow!!!
Professor Muffit

[shiningstar]

Originally Posted by Muffit

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Oops! I slipped again, Teach' forgot to teach yesterday!!!

Wednesdays Words:
==============
"Okay/OK" - this is believed to have come from the nickname of Martin Van Buren, who rose from potboy (isn't that the kid who holds the pot while drunks pee?) in a tavern to President. In an attempt to mudsling, the now famous "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" campaign nicknamed him "Old Kinderhook", from his hometown. The Democratics abbreviated it to try and undo its meaning, and even formed a rallying cry out of it. Thus O.K. came to be "okay", rather than derogatory.


"Shot in the arm" - no, believe it or not, this did not come from hospital usage. An anonymous drug addict coined it in the early 20's cuz his fixes were a "pick me up"


Thursday's Words
============
"deadline" - this comes from the Confederate prison of Andersonville. There was a line drawn 17 feet from the camp fence. Any prisoner who crossed it was shot dead. Reporters later borrowed it to mean a story not turned in early enough.

"ginseng" - this aphrodisiac stems from the Chinese term "jen-shen", or "man-herb"

"hat trick" - from the 1800's sport of cricket. A bowler who bowled down 3 wickets with 3 successive balls was awarded a new hat, or a hat was passed around to award him money.

"manure" - oddly, this actually came from the French word for manual labor. Originally meant to imply the cultivation of the soil, it later meant the fertilizing of it.

See ya tomorrow!!!
Professor Muffit

COOL! Thanks .........Love the lessons Muffit!

[Archangel]

Learn something new every day...

[shiningstar]

Originally Posted by Archangel

Learn something new every day...

I have to agree with you on that

[Muffit]

Friday!


"Hem and haw" - dates back as early as Shakespeare's days, Onomatopoeia for the sounds a person makes when trying to say something and can't quite get it out.


"Hot dog" - attributed to the sports cartoonist T.A. Dorgan after he sampled them. Many people believed they were made from dog meat at the time, and concessionaires called them "red hots". So yes, Virginia, they may have originally been dogs!


"Jinx" - as early as Greek times, there was a bird, the "iynx" (Greek for jynx), which was really bizarre looking and acting, and so its feathers were often used to make charms or spells on people.


"Lacrosse" - this one is pretty funny. A Fench priest in the 1700's saw the Algonquin Indians playing a sport with these funny-shaped sticks, which to him looked like a bishop's cross. Which in French back then must've been "la crosse", (today it's la croix).

See ya tomorree!!!
Professor Muffit

[Muffit]

Saturday!
=======

"cahoots" - derives from the old French word "cahute", or cabin. American and French fur trappers in North America often lived together in cabins, and hence were partners. So to be sharing a cabin was to be "in cahoots".


"Incas" - oddly enough, the Incas did not call themselves Incas. "Inca' was their word for King, literally, "of royal blood". The dumb Spaniards took it to mean any of their people.


"Lollipop" - there are 2 possible origins. One has it that an American candy manufacturer named his original candy on a stick at the start of teh 20th century after a famous racehorse, Lolly Pop. Alternatively, a type of sucking candy (but not on a stick) had long existed in England, and was called by the same name, for Lolly or tongue and pop for the sound it made when you took it out.


Sunday!!!
=======

"mob" - from the Latin "mobile vulgas", or unruly crowd, shortened over time by the English.


"pittance" - originally, this meant "pietas" or piety, a very large offering given to the church by someone wealthy. Over time, those offerings got smaller and smaller, leading eventually to our definition of a meager amount.


"slap-happy" and "punch-drunk" - from the 1920's, referring to the severe mental damage done to many, many boxers.

See ya tomorrow!
Professor Muffit

[Archangel]

I like learning! It makes me think I'm in school again Thanks Muffit. informative as always

[Muffit]

Thanks Archangel!!

[Flamingo Girl]

Hey, where did my lessons get to?

[Muffit]

Originally Posted by Flamingo Girl

Hey, where did my lessons get to?

Eeks! Sorry gang! Seems like I keep missing a day!!!
Here we go...


MONDAY'S WORDS
============
"Port wine" - this sweet vintage was so named because it first came from Oporto in Portugal


"Protestant" - you're not gonna believe this... but this actually comes from the word for testicles in Latin "testiculi". The latter really means, "little witnesses", ROTFL!!! So much so that a women's magazine said it made no sense for a woman to "give her testimony", but instead should give her "ovarimony", LOL!


TUESDAY'S WORDS
=============
"Threshold" - this stems from the ancient task of threshing wheat, which seemed similar to wiping one's feet at the door so... Hmm, next time ladies your groom carries you across the threshold, remember, you're just a stack of wheat... LOL!!!

"Tijuana" - many people think this comes from the Spanish, "Tia Juana", or Aunt Jane. Actually, it's from the Indian word "tiwana" which means "by the sea"

"Crap" - it is believed to have come from the Dutch word "krappe", for "scraps". By unbelievable coincidence, the English inventor of the modern toilet during WWI was named, of all things, Thomas Crapper! Even more bizarre, they even wrote a book about him called, get this, "Flushed with Pride" LOL!!! You can find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

Check out the price!!!!

See ya tomorrow- if I remember that is!!!
Professor Muffit

[The 14th Colony]

That is too funny Muffit! I'll bet ol' Thomas' kids were proud, to have been born from the Crapper!

[Archangel]

...all the little Crappers around the house...

[The 14th Colony]

^ LOL


I get these things in my mailbox everyday. I sent this one to Muffit, because I like how it is similar to the way she thinks and writes. She liked it, and asked me to post it here for her. So, here it is, my contribution, which came to me by way of Mountain Wings. Enjoy!

MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#1150 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
-------------------------------------------------

Facts of Life
==============
Facts Of Life In The 1500s

Next time you are washing your hands and complain because the
water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how
things used to be.......in the "good old days"!

Here are some facts about life in the 1500s:

1) Most people got married in June because they took their
yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June.
However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a
bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of
the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all
the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children-
last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you
could actually lose someone in it - hence the saying,
"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

2) Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw, piled high, with no
wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm,
so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice rats, and
bugs), lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and
sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof-hence the
saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

3) There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.

This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other
droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a
bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some
protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

4) The floor was dirt.

Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence the saying
"dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get
slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh on the
floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they
kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would
all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the
entry way-hence, a "thresh hold."

5) They cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung
over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to
the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat.
They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot
to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite
a while-hence the rhyme, "peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold,
peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

6) Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite
special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their
bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man "could
bring home the bacon."

They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all
sit around and "chew the fat."

7) Those with money had plates made of pewter.

Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach
onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened
most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so,
tomatoes were considered poisonous.

8) Most people did not have pewter plates, but had trenchers, a
piece of wood with the middle scooped out like a bowl. Often
trenchers were made from stale paysan bread which was so old and
hard that they could use them for quite some time. Trenchers
were never washed and a lot of times worms and mold got into the
wood and old bread. After eating off wormy moldy
trenchers, one would get "trench mouth."

9) Bread was divided according to status.

Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the
middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

10) Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey.

The combination would some times knock them out for a couple of
days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead
and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen
table for a couple of days and the family would gather around
and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up-hence
the custom of holding a "wake."

11) England is old and small and they started out running out of
places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would
take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When
reopening these coffins, one out of 25 coffins were found to
have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been
burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string
on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up
through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to
sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to
listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell"
or was considered a "dead ringer."


~Author Unknown~


Still in a big hurry to get back to "The Good Old Days?"

When you hear people talk about how terrible things are these
days, email them a copy of this and remind them that you
couldn't have even sent them this in the good old days, unless
you sent it by horse.

Note: Many of these are not historically verifiable and may not
be true, but you get the point. Each age has plusses and minuses.

Also see the issue, The Good Old Days
http://www.mountainwings.com/past/3007.htm

[bsg1fan1975]

very interesting.