had always meant “marriageable” until 1973 when it came to mean “sexually attractive.”
Why is the children’s play kit known as LEGO?
LEGO is a trademark name for a child’s plastic construction set derived from a 1934 invention by a humble and struggling Danish carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891–1958). The company name LEGO comes from the Danish words leg godt, meaning “play well.” There is a myth that Christiansen didn’t realize that lego in Latin means “I assemble.” In fact, the word in Latin means “I read” and has nothing to do with the legend or the truth of the play kit or the company’s name. The motto on the wall of Christiansen’s carpentry workshop was Only the Best Is Good Enough.
Why is foolish behaviour called “tomfoolery”?
A buffoon was first called a “Tom fool” in 1650 because Tom was a nickname for a “common man.” Although fool once meant “mad” or “insane,” by the seventeenth century it was a reference to a jester or a clown. The name Tom became influenced by “Tom the cat” in the 1809 popular children’s book The Life and Adventures of a Cat. Tom the cat was quite silly and was a promiscuous night crawler. This all led to tomfoolery becoming a word for crazy behaviour.
Another Tom phrase was “Tom o’ Bedlam,” the nickname given to the insane men who, because of overcrowding and spiralling costs, had been released from London’s Bethlehem or “Bedlam” Hospital for the Insane and were given a licence to beg on the streets. (The term is also a dig at the Irish). Bedlam is a cockney pronunciation of Bethlehem.
Where does the Sandman come from?
The Sandman is an elf who sprinkles sand in children’s eyes to make them sleepy. The character is derived from the remarkable mind of Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), the Danish writer famous for his fairy tales. Andersen’s Sandman was a device to explain to children the reason for the grit or “sleep” in their eyes when they woke up in the morning. The Sandman is found in Andersen’s 1850 story “Ole Lukoie,” which means “Olaf Shuteye.” Olaf carried two umbrellas. Over good children he held an umbrella with pictures that inspired beautiful dreams. Over bad children he held the other umbrella, which had no pictures and caused frightful dreams.
Andersen was born in the slums of Odense, Denmark, and his incredible life story is well worth reading for inspiration.
Why does “lace” describe an ornamental fabric and a string for tying shoes?
The word lace began its route into thirteenth-century English as the Latin word lacere, which means “to entice.” On its way through Spanish and French, lace became a hunting term meaning “rope net,” “snare,” or “noose.” In 1555, because fancy lace reminded someone of a hunting net, the word lace was employed to describe an ornamental netted fabric pattern and, shortly after, as a cord for tying, such as a shoelace. As its use in hunting diminished, lace or “netting” took on the primary meaning of “ornamental trim.”
The expression “to lace a drink” by adding a dash of liquor derived from the new habit of adding sugar to coffee or tea during the seventeenth century, and also meant “ornamental trim.”
The Spanish word for a “hunting lace” or a rope was lazo, which gave cowboys the lasso.
“Laced mutton” was an old expression for a prostitute.
Why do we call women’s underwear “bloomers”?
In the mid-nineteenth century, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith Miller (1822–1911) revolutionized women’s wear by designing and wearing a clothing style that did away with voluminous dresses and tightly laced corsets. She suggested that women wear a jacket and knee-length skirt over a pair of trousers tucked into boots. The cause was taken up by magazine editor and feminist Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818–1894) and was given a boost by the new pastime of bicycling. There was a lot of resistance before the new dress became acceptable and took the name of its most visible advocate, Amelia Bloomer.
Bloomers soon became applied to just the trousers and eventually to any sort of long underwear.
Why is a light, short overcoat called a “jacket”?
A short coat is called a jacket for the same reason that Jack is used generically to mean any male stranger (“hit the road, Jack”). It was the French who began using Jacques this way as a reference to any common or unsophisticated male. The word took on the meaning of a peasant or ordinary man’s outerwear in France and spread throughout Europe, arriving in England as jacket during the thirteenth century.
As a nickname for John, Jack is used as an endearment like “buddy” or “mate” and has been since the days of Middle English. During this same time, Dicken became popular as the original nickname for Richard until it evolved into Dick, while Robin was an endearment for Robert before it became Rob.
Why do we say that someone well dressed wore his or her best “bib and tucker”?
In the seventeenth century, bibs were introduced to protect men’s clothing from the consequences of their own bad table manners. Women did the same, but their bibs were fancier and were made of lace or muslin with frills to frame their faces. Because these bibs were tucked into the tops of low-cut dresses, they were called tuckers. On special occasions both men and women brought their own bibs and tuckers to the banquet and, just like their clothing, these made a fashion statement.
How did the bowler hat become an English icon?
The caricature of an Englishman used to include an umbrella, a briefcase, and a bowler hat. Although this is an outdated image, it still recalls a class system that defines the British character. The first bowler was designed in the mid-1800s by London hatters James and George Lock as a protective riding hat for Thomas William Coke. The headgear became synonymous with property owners and consequently the gentry or well-to-do. The hat got its name from Thomas and William Bowler, the hat-makers who produced Coke’s prototype.
Americans call this hat a derby, probably because it was so prevalent within the wealthy compound at major horse races.
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) was one of the last of his generation to make the bowler high fashion.
London’s trademark black high-roofed taxicabs were designed so that gentlemen wouldn’t have to remove their bowlers.
Why is a type of woman’s underwear called a “G-string”?
Although our prehistoric ancestors wore leather loincloths that have been excavated from more than 7,000 years ago, underwear as we know it didn’t become “normal” until the thirteenth century when it was tied at the waist and knees. The ancient Greeks didn’t wear underwear, though their slaves sported a kind of loincloth. The G in G-string stands for “groin”
