Story behind words

Story behind words...the idea!

2009-01-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

Words, words, words....nice words, cool words, funny words, weird words....

What is a couch potato?
Why is the word "marmalade" just for orange jam and not any other jam?
What does greenhorn mean?
Come and join us on our fun ride to stories behind words, legends, jokes, nick names...
We invite our readers to add new words!

When you know or find a nice story please post it!!

Please mail to brg2700@gmail.com

dead end

2009-01-22T18:45:00.000-08:00

has nothing to do with crime!

It means a "street with only one way out", a blind alley.

You can drive in one direction but then you have to turn round and go back!

Sweet tooth

2009-01-22T18:37:00.001-08:00

...is someone who really really likes candies, chocolates, sweets, jellies, cookies, puddings, icecream, cakes, pies, lollies, toffies ...
and who eats lots and lots of such sweet stuff!
Yummy...!

stalking

2009-01-22T18:18:00.001-08:00

The dictionnaries don´t explain the origin of this word.
We think perhaps it comes from "walking behind a star, a celebrity"?
(just like moon walking?)

Stalkers follow, watch or chat up other persons.
They following the person to certain places, to see where they live or what the person does.
They find out personal and private information, telephone numbers, details on computers,..

When this gets too much it is a crime!

black sheep

2009-01-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

Black sheep is a word for an "odd" member of a family:

...a loser, a very naughty boy....
In herds of sheep - when a black lamb is born into a herd of white sheep - you cannot use its wool!
In earlier times black sheep were seen as "the mark of the devil".

But be sure: every black sheep can turn into a winner - it takes some effort and goood luck :-)

Fidget

2009-01-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

We came across the word when we were talking about "Zappelphilipp" in German:

the online dictionary then showed us the word "fidget":

It is a person who behaves or moves nervously or restlessly, who plays or fusses.
Well, we know such persons from classes, don´t we?

Smoothie

2009-01-22T17:45:00.000-08:00

A smoothie is a chilled, sweet drink made from fresh fruit.

You press and mix fruit like strawberries, abricots, peaches and add crushed ice, frozen fruit or frozen. So you get a drink like a milkshake but without milk!
You can add soda.

The word smoothie comes from about 1900: a sweet-talking very polite person!

sandwich

2009-01-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

The story goes that a Lord Sandwich liked this form of food because it allowed him to go on playing cards while eating without getting his cards greasy. So he told his butler to bring him "meat, eggs, cucumber, tomatoes packed in 2 pieces of bread"!

Today we know sandwiches as "fast food" and cheap meals.
You take sandwiches to work, school or picnics.
There is a combination of vegetables, meat, cheese, and/or a variety of sauces.

Tell me: What is your favourite sandwich?

Hobo - just means: poor beggar or tramp!

2009-01-10T12:40:00.000-08:00

There are a number of ideas where the word comes from:
"farmhand," or a greeting such as Ho, boy!
or short form of "homeward bound"
The word "hobo" may also be a short form of the hobo's way of travelling,
"hopping boxcars" (= hopping trains!)
And last (very logical) short for the words "homeless boy".

And here you can learn how to draw a cartoon hobo! Try it - you will like it!

Bikini - an island or a sexy swimming-suit?

2009-01-10T12:29:00.000-08:00

Both:
A bikini or two-piece is a type of women's swimming-suit with two separate parts, the bra (top) and the panty(brief) leaving the belly uncovered.

But already the Greeks and Romans had such bikinis...!
The modern bikini was invented by a French engineer in 1946.
He named it after the Island of Bikini, an atoll in the Pacific,
where there were nuclear weapon test on July 1, 1946.

So you see: The name Bikini stands for "shock", "explosion", "bomb"!

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini...

2009-01-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" is a funny song from the 60s.

It tells the story of a shy girl in a very small bathing suit (a bikini).
She stays in the ocean water so that nobody can see her :-)
The song was "number one" in America in 1960 and also made the top 10 in other countries.
Here you can listen to some versions of the original SONG!

But what about the word BIKINI? Read the next "story" behind the word...

Itsy bitsy...what does THIS word MEAN?

2009-01-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

"Itsy Bitsy Spider" (also known as "Eensy Weensy Spider") is a nice little children nursery rhyme: it describes the adventures of a spider as it climbs out of the bath tub, into many different things like a teapot...

It is usually accompanied by some gestures that mimic the words of the song. The first version is from 1962.

Example: The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

You want to WATCH and LISTEN? Click here to see the cartoon!

And here to see the finger play!

spick and span, loosey-goosey, okey-dokey

2009-01-09T06:19:00.000-08:00

These words appear in the movie "Mrs Doubtfire", you remember?

spick and span - is "clean", new, fresh or unused!
loosey-goosey - means very relaxed, calm, casual!
okey-dokey is a fun/slang version of OK!

You know, Homer Simpson uses it again and again! ("okely-dokely")

Pig tails, pony tails

2008-12-26T14:20:00.000-08:00

pigtail is another name for hair styled into a large braid that hangs down or out from the head, or can also be the hairstyle of 2 hair bunches on each side of the head.
The name comes from the look of kinked tails of pigs - thick irregulary-tensioned hair braid. Look right!

pony tail looks like a long, free-flowing tail of a horse. Look left!

Hot dog

2008-12-26T14:06:00.000-08:00

Strange word for a hot sausage in a roll or bun - the story goes because a sausage looks like a German dachshund (Dackel).

So, the term "dog" was used as a word for "sausage".

According to a popular story, the use of the complete phrase "hot dog" in reference to sausage is created by the newspaper cartoon around 1900.

Roundabout

2008-12-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

in German just "rundherum" ...
A roundabout is a type of traffic circle where traffic enters a one-way stream around a central island.

Black pudding - no dessert!

2008-12-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

When you hear "pudding" you think of something sweet, but....

Black pudding or blood pudding is a word for sausage made by cooking blood with other stuff until it is thick enough:
pig blood plus meat, fat, white bread, meal.

Piggy bank

2008-12-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Piggy bank (other names are penny bank or money box)
is an old traditional name for a money container in the shape of a fat pink pig.
Piggy banks are typically made of ceramic or porcelain.

The problem:
you can put your money (coins, banknotes) in a slot but when you want to get all the money out you must break the piggy bank open (you smash it or crack it open with a hammer)!

Pickpocket - what a job!

2008-12-26T13:11:00.001-08:00

A pickpocket is a thief who takes your money, your wallet, your purse, your credit card out of your jeans-pocket or out of handbags - very softly so that you don´t even feel it!

A couch potato...is no vegetable!

2008-12-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

A couch potato is a person who spends most of his or her free time sitting or lying on a sofa/couch just doing nothing but watching TV and eating potato crisps.
It describes "lazy and overweight or fat people".

And then here comes a new word: mouse potato!
It is the "computer freak type" of the couch potato - someone who spends hours and hours in front of the computer screen, surfing, playing and snacking!

The definitions come from the characteristic potato-like body form :-)

The story behind "marmalade"

2008-12-26T12:45:00.003-08:00

A nice legend has it that Marie Antoinette feels very sick one morning, she has got a headache. Her cook hears the servants say that "Marie est malade"(Marie is sick).
He prepares a bitter mixture of oranges and sugar - and that is now called "marmalade".

There is a second legend: That marmalade comes from "Mary malade".
The story goes that Mary, Queen of Scots, gets ill on a ship trip and bitter orange marmalade is one of the few things that she can eat.
So the French phrase "Marie malade" , meaning 'sick Mary' gives the jam its name.

Definition: Marmalade is a kind of jelly. Jellies and marmalades are made with fruit, sugar and water.