Wow, it feels like it's been awhile since I've actually picked up The Little Book of Answers by Doug Lennox. What with a few busy weekends the past few weeks, I had blogged ahead a lot and just last week found myself back to a regular blogging routine! So let's see what we learn today!
(image borrowed from Wikipedia)
The word "gringo" has more than one meaning to it. It's said that during the Mexican-American war at the end of the 19th century, locals heard invaders singing "Green Grow the Lilacs" and that's where they got the term "gringo" from when "green grow" was said. Another reasons was because the American uniforms were green and there was the rallying call of "Green, go!" But really, as you may already know, "gringo" is a Spanish slang insult for anyone who is fair-skinned and looks foreign.
With my white Irish skin, I guess that would be a term used for myself.
(image borrowed from Moxie)
Moxie is a New England soft drink that began as a tonic in 1884 created by Dr. Augustine Thompson and was called "Moixe Nerve Food". In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act put an end to its medical claims that said it gives you energy. So to be "full of moxie" is to be full of false nerve.
I did not know that.
(image borrowed from Wikipedia)
An "esquire" was a young man who was basically a lackey for an armored knight. He'd carry around his shield and whatnot. With the passing of the knights, "esquire" was applied to young men of noble birth who hadn't earned a proper title. Eventually, the name became used for any promising young man.
(image borrowed from Wikipedia)
The term "whipping boy" dates back to the mid-seventeenth century when young princes and aristocrats went off to school with their own personal servant. The servant would get the same education as the rich boy while also attending to his needs. Though, sadly, if the master were to get into trouble, the servant received the punishment and hence the nickname "whipping boy" came into being.
(image borrowed from Wired)
When someone passes away they were referred to as the late "insert name" for the next twenty years. It was mostly in the medieval times when people would have the same name. To avoid confusion with a living monarch, for example, James II, his deceased father would be referred to as "the late King James."
(image borrowed from IMDB)
When a man gifted with charm seizes an opportunity, the phrase "He's in like Flynn" gets used. The Australian actor Errol Flynn was quite the ladies' man and he became a legend. During World War II servicemen coined the phrase "in like Flynn" either to brag about their own conquests or to describe someone they envied. Flynn apparently hated this expression, but apparently boasted about spending between twelve and fourteen thousand intimate nights kept the phrase alive.
Wow. I guess I never really realized what that phrase meant!
