2032: Clubs or Clovers (Suit of Cards) Jul 8, 2020
Of the 4 suits in a French card deck, ♣♦♠♥, the name which makes the least sense is probably the clubs (♣). In French these are 'trèfle' (clover), which helps to explain the shape of the card, but the name comes from the name in the Spanish deck 'baston' which means 'baton' or in other words, 'club'. The French name is retained in some other languages though, as with the Austrian German 'Treff' which would otherwise mean 'meeting' in German.
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2031: Hobo Signs (Systemized Graffiti) Jul 7, 2020
Some hobo-slang has entered into mainstream American English over the years, but perhaps more famous are the hobo-signs: systematized cryptic graffiti as a way to communicate with other hobos. These would be left around relevant places like railroads, personal homes, water-towers and doctors' offices to indicate things like "fresh water; safe place to sleep" (a squiggle with OXO underneath), "doctor won't charge" (plus sign with a circle in the top-right corner), or 'mean dog here'—or as they might have said, 'bone polisher'—(a box with 4 vertical lines connected by a horizontal line within). Many of these the subject of urban legends as well, but they had been in use since at least the 1870's.
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2030: Hobo Slang in Mainstream Use Jul 6, 2020
While the hobo-lifestyle diminished in the latter half of the 20th century, there are two significant linguistic developments they introduced, including slang, as well as hobo-signs, which will be discussed in the next post. Indeed, while much of the slang has faded into obscurity like 'Bone orchard' (cemetery), 'California blankets' (newspapers) or 'Blowed-in-the-glass' (a trustworthy person), many entered mainstream lexicon. Some of these, like 'bighouse' (prison), 'flop [house]' (a cheap hotel), and 'main drag' (busy road) to name a few are still frequently used in American English outside of the hobo-community.
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2029: sacrum Jul 5, 2020
We probably don't think of biology as being terribly spiritual, but there are a few lingering terms that are. For instance, the 'sacrum' has for a long time been understood to be where the soul resides. For reference, the sacrum is the bone at the base of the spine between the hip-bones. Many cultures including the Egyptians, Greeks, and Israelites understood this to be so, and hence the name '(os) sacrum' comes from the Latin meaning 'sacred (bone)'.
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2028: gazump Jul 4, 2020
A number of words entered English from Yiddish, but due to the relative number of native speakers—at times nearly 100 times as many in the US as opposed to the UK—most of these were adopted into American English first. That wasn't always true though, as with the word 'gazump' which is part of British slang meaning 'swindle' or 'increase the price (of a house) from an original agreement' from the Yiddish meaning 'to overcharge'.
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2027: Holy Ghost, or Holy Breath Jul 3, 2020
The word 'ghost' today mostly denotes a supernatural entity, but in its oldest forms it just related to breath; in Old English 'gast' meant 'breath'. Indeed, the Latinate form of that, 'spirit', comes from 'spiritus' which also meant 'breath'. This is why the Hebrew רוח הקודש (ruach hakodesh) and later the Greek πνεῦμα (pneuma, related to 'pneumonia') most literally translates as as 'holy breath', but is usually translated as 'holy spirit' or 'holy ghost'. Moreover, while the connotations to supernatural beings is an old association it is not the only one, since even in English 'spirit' can just relate to vigor, and in German 'Geist' means 'mind' as well as the supernatural 'spirit'.
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2026: Trouble Translating Harry Potter Jul 2, 2020
The "Harry Potter" series is one of the most translated set of books, after the Bible. One extra challenge that it has, being a fantasy series is that there are lots of invented or otherwise repurposed words. Many of the totally made up words are supposed to sound British, which translators had to adapt to their oh well. languages, but also Rowling borrows a great deal of words and names from French (and Latin) which in English gives a sort of old and even high-class flair to it, but for those translations in particular does not; such as the characters Fleur Delacour ('Yard-Flower) or Voldemort (Flight of Death). There are lots more funny H.P. translation quirks so if you know any, leave a comment.
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2025: Defining Scandinavia Jul 1, 2020
Scandinavia in common usage is somewhat of a vague term; it can refer to just the Scandinavian Peninsula, but in due to cultural and political relations, this sometimes relates also to other places, like Åland, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, or even Svalbard. Because of this, even parts of Scotland were considered Scandinavian, especially the North Island from about the 8th to the 15th century, due to colonization from Scandinavians like Norwegians.
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2024: Finns Curse More Jun 30, 2020
According to Juhani Sirén, Finns curse more than other Nordic or Central Europeans, and are only met at that level by Scots and Russians, though of course determining what is and isn't a curse word is both a cultural and also individual matter. While cursing can actually affect Finnish grammar, he attributes this reason to the late adoption of Christianity in Finland, even though this would not as be so cut-and-dry for the other two places mentioned. It makes sense for Finland however due to the nature of the cursing being so paganistic, using words like 'perkele' (a pagan devil-like figure), 'ärräpäät' ('dwarf', in the mythical sense) and other mythological references. That said, much of the younger generation is now using more physiologically related words as well.
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2023: The Odd Grammar of "If Needs Be" Jun 29, 2020
Some verbs can introduce a grammar that only really work for themselves. In one such case, 'need' (or needs) will often take an infinitive verb without the infinitive marker 'to' such as in "if needs be", and in some dialects it can also take a participle: "the car needs fixed". In the former example, "if need(s) be" or "if needs must" both imply compelling by necessity, and are pretty old constructions, relying on grammar and phrasing that was once more common than it is now in Modern English. In the latter example, though more regionally variable, the phrase "the car needs fixed" (as in "...to be fixed") cannot as easily be substituted by related verbs like 'want', but this is still possible nonetheless.
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2022: genie: Disney vs. Arabian Mythology Jun 28, 2020
People might be familiar with the idea of a genies who live in lamps and grant three wishes, and while that is true in certain Arabian folklore, the sources for that are very mixed. In one sense, this draws from the Latin 'genius' used for French translations of "The Arabian Nights' Entertainments" which is a term for a sort of guardian spirit. Now of course 'genius' shifted along the lines of 'a person who can influence others' and hence 'a powerful/creative person'. Really though, this concept is adapted from the pre-Islamic Arabian demons called 'jinni' (singular) who could take human forms, and were adopted into Islam during the period of expansion.
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2021: sydney or sidney Jun 27, 2020
Plenty of places are named for personal names. For instance, there are two cities named Sydney, the more famous being in Australia, named after Thomas Townshend. More accurately, they were named for his title as the 1st Viscount Sydney. This elevation into nobility first came in 1603 with the barony of Robert Sidney, and all of the following barons with this personal name spelt it with an -i-, but the spelling used in the title continued with a -y-.
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2020: mocha Jun 26, 2020
Plenty of homophones are not actually related to one another, like 'stalk' for a plant or for a stealthy pursuer. 'Mocha' is a coffee drink and also a type of sheepskin leather, but these actually are related to each other. The word came to English in the late 18th century from 'Mocha', a Yemeni port out of which the coffee and leather were shipped.
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2019: spa Jun 25, 2020
The modern idea of a spa as a resort started with the town of Belgium, Spa, but it wasn't a building that attracted the early visitors. The waters were thought to have healing properties so many would visit the mineral baths for medicinal reasons. Indeed, still many use the word as a general term for mineral (spring) water, or even drinking fountains in some American dialects.
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2018: moxie Jun 24, 2020
Slogans can be pretty powerful. Obviously, the intended influence of an advertisement is to effect someone to buy something, but sometimes the effects are further reaching. For instance, moxie is a branded soft drink, but the word 'moxie' now means 'determined character; daring'. This is due to intense marketing of the soda company through ads in a variety of media depicting the 'moxie man'.
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2017: Leader of the Opposition Jun 23, 2020
Just because it's not official doesn't mean that people won't use a word. For instance, although British political parties have existed for centuries, the title as leader of the opposition, or "Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition" the head of the largest political party not part of the government) was not official in a technical sense until 1937. Then, it was because the government had to decide how much he should be paid, which in 2019 was £65,181 on top of the regular MP salary.
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2016: Tending Towards Traditionality: onomatopoeic Jun 22, 2020
Onomatopoeias are words that imitate natural sounds, though somewhat ironically the term itself is not the easiest one to pronounce. Moreover, it has two adjectival forms which have varying degrees of acceptance and popularity: 'onomatopoeic' and 'onomatopoetic', though other forms have also existed including ‘onomatopoeial’ and ‘onomatopoeous’. It comes from the Greek 'ὄνομα (ónoma) meaning and related to 'name', and ποιέω (poiéō) meaning 'to make', with the latter element being the exact same root as 'poem' thence 'poetic'. The form without -t- is the older and these days more common one, though that has varied (see image). Likely influences by the word 'poetic', 'onomatopoetic' was once more popular, but people are now tending towards the traditional.
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Imagine from Google Ngram
2015: Cognates: Tzadik and Sadiq Jun 21, 2020
Often, when cognates differ in meaning across languages, there is a connection to be found in the meanings. For instance, the Hebrew צדיק (tzadik) meaning 'righteous (person)', often in a religious context, is a cognate the Arabic word for 'friend' صديق (sadiq). The Hebrew term is naturally older, but the Arabic meaning as an adjective, meaning 'truthful' helps to suggest how the meaning would have shifted over time.
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2014: Mascots, Witches, and Opera Jun 20, 2020
Today, mascots for businesses and sports teams are effectively synonymous with logos, though usually there is an animated component. This idea however has a far more sinister history, wherein animals, children, and people with handicaps and disabilities would be kept around for superstitious beliefs of bringing good luck. Indeed, the term comes to English from the French opera La Mascotte about a woman (a mascot) who brings good luck so long as she remains a virgin. This story involves sorcery, and indeed, the term is just a feminine diminutive of the French 'masco' meaning 'witch', though that word may itself come from Arabic meaning 'mascarade'. In sports, supposed real human good luck charms, and not just characters in costumes, often mentally disabled, were used by teams into the 20th century.
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2013: MLB's Red Sox didn't Evolve from the Boston Red Stockings Jun 19, 2020
In 1871, the baseball teams the Chicago White Stockings and the Boston Redstockings were formed. Major League Baseball teams now include the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox, and while one might assume that these simply evolved as a name change, the White Stockings first evolved into the Chicago Cubs and the Red Stockings evolved into the Boston Braves, who are now the Atlanta Braves. The other teams' names as references to their socks (which in the case of the White Sox are no longer white) came later, but was a fairly common practice for the times, such as how the St. Louis Brown Stockings (now St. Louis Cardinals), or even how the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (now L.A. Dodgers) were often just referred to as the Grays in reference to the uniform.
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(Historical logos are not entirely accurate)