sockdolager

Sockdolager, meaning a “decisive blow or remark,” is a 19th-century American original. The origin of such silly-sounding words like sockdolager are, often, sometimes just that—a fanciful act of silliness.

However, it’s sometimes claimed (though etymologists aren’t convinced of this theory) that the word combines sock (“to strike or hit”) with doxology, “a hymn or phrase praising God.”

A form of the word sockdolager in the play Our American Cousin may have been one of the last words President Abraham Lincoln heard right before he was assassinated in 1865.

Many more amusing Americanisms await in our slideshow “These Wacky Words Originated In The USA.”

Well, it turns out Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, specifically chose the saying of the word sockdolager as his cue to shoot the president. Booth, who was an actor, knew that the biggest audience laughter always followed the word and believed the laughter would muffle his gunshot.

As slang, sockdolager has largely fallen by the wayside, so using it today generally has a folksy, old-fashioned effect. Looking for something more current instead? Consider knockout punch or finisher.