A bigot is “a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.” OK, but where does this strong and negative word originate? Here’s the interesting part. Some etymologists believe the Old French version of bigot, which means “sanctimonious,” was used by the French to mock the Normans, a people who lived in France and invaded Britain in 1066. Allegedly, the Normans …
There’s a fresh UFO hullabaloo, and that provides the perfect opportunity to encounter the origin of “flying saucer” and “UFO.” There are no alien autopsies, abductions or crop circles in these stories, but there is no shortage of weirdness. First, here’s the latest extraterrestrial extravaganza. A group of retired Air Force members and UFO researchers held a press conference claiming that aliens not only monitor, …
According to the British tabloid the Daily Mirror, a quick-thinking Montana woman fended off a bear attack with a 14-inch courgette. Is this some sort of ax, shovel, or broom? No. Here’s a hint: a courgette is perfect sautéed in garlic and butter. If you are of British extraction, you may recognize the weapon of necessity as the humble yet
Chapter 11 is often used synonymously with bankruptcy, but Chapter 11 and bankruptcy aren’t exactly the same. What is Chapter 11? Chapter 11 is a specific section of the US Bankruptcy Code. It permits the reorganization of assets and debts, under court supervision, of an insolvent corporation. Individuals can also seek relief through chapter 11. Chapter 11 also establishes a schedule of payment for debts owed. …
Most of us take our keyboards for granted. If we’re touch typists, we automatically position our fingers above the same eight keys and our muscle memory takes over. We just type! What does QWERTY mean? But our keyboards have an interesting history. Most English language keyboards have a QWERTY layout. And QWERTY isn’t an acronym or neologism. The name is simply the first six characters in …
As you read about the Pope in the latest news, you may begin to wonder about his name. After all, what does pope actually mean? And how does a pope get his name after he assumes the papacy? The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, and thereby the world leader of the Catholic Church. The word comes from the Latin pāpa, which means “father.” He is …
New York City goes by many names, such as the “City that Never Sleeps” and the less humble “Center of the Universe.” But the Big Apple is the most kenspeckled. There are many rumors about the history of the nickname. Did the city used to be filled with apple orchards? Does the name originate with a brothel madam named Eve? Actually, the widespread use of …
See if your football fanatic friends can explain the meaning and history behind some common football words! Let’s start with a strangely confusing term in the game: touchdown. For most of the game the last thing a player wants is for the pigskin to make contact with the ground. Why would it be called a touchdown, if the football doesn’t need to touch down in order to …
Thinly dressed with yellow mustard and slapped between two slices of white bread, bologna is found in the lunchboxes of many American youth. But, what does the cold cut have to do with baloney, a slang word that implies nonsense? The bologna sausage is traditionally made from the “odds and ends” of chicken, turkey, beef, or pork. It is similar to the Italian mortadella, which …
After World War II, one of the largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing, turned its attention from designing military craft to building commercial planes, along with missiles and spaceships. (Unrelated fact: when Boeing was forced to spin off its passenger flight division, the newly-formed company became United Airlines.) Why did Boeing start using numbers as names? Back to the late 1940s: Model numbers were assigned to each …
When someone casually uses a term they assume you understand but don’t, you have a few choices. You can get frustrated, or you can look it up. Financial jargon can be a code of confusing abbreviations and arithmetic. Let’s focus on one of the most common bits of shorthand: “the Dow.” What is the full name of the Dow? The full name for this measure of stock …
Pakistan means “land of the pure” in Urdu and Persian. It shares a suffix with Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. But, what does it mean? What does -stan mean? The suffix –stan is Persian and Urdu for “place of,” or “where one stands.” It is found in the names of seven countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In most of these titles, the first part of the …