Random Thursday

Let's learn some more about words from The Little Book of Answers by Doug Lennox! This chapter is definitely more interesting than I originally thought!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

The first few weeks after a marriage is called a "honeymoon" and it didn't mean a vacation after the wedding. Not at first. The custom of a "honeymoon" began in Babylon over 4,000 years ago when the first month after a wedding the bride's father would give his new son-in-law all the honey-beer he could drink, thus earning the name "honeymoon." The actual word "honeymoon" didn't enter our language until 1546, but it didn't mean a trip away from home until the mid-19th century.

Never going to think of "honeymoon" the same way again!

(image borrowed from Lavender Sidetrack) 

When you get set off course from your goal, it's called "sidetracked." This term came about in the early days of railroads. Trains would have the problem of having near collisions with another when they were headed in the same direction. Eventually, to solve this problem, an extra "side" was created where one train could pull over to the side and let the other train go by. The train that was "sidetracked" for awhile by not going anywhere.

(image borrowed from WikiShrek)

When someone is rather charming, we say they have "personality," that's because in Greek and Roman theaters people had to wear masks to portray different characters. The Latin word for mask is "persona" and basically became to mean a personality. Today we still think of "persona" or "personality" as being a mask a person wears to mask their true character.

That's interesting! I feel like I've heard some of this before somewhere!

(image borrowed from Country Living Magazine)

 Daisies and dandelions were both named for a physical characteristic. The daisy was named as such since it was a flower that closed at night and opened in daylight. Thus earning the name "day's eye." The dandelion was named by the French for its sharp, edible leaves. It was thus called, "dent de lion" or the "tooth of the lion."

Whoa. We think the "tooth of the lion" is a weed! That's intriguing!

(image borrowed from eBay)

Levi denims eventually earned the name "jeans" based on their location of origin. In the 1850s, Levi Strauss was selling pants to California gold miners when he ran out of tent canvas. He imported a tough material from Nimes in France called "serge de Nimes" that was Americanized into "de Nimes" which eventually turned into "denim." "Jeans" is the French word for Genoa where the cloth was invented. Jeans eventually became a popular clothing item after James Dean wore them in Rebel Without a Cause!

Another interesting origin story!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

A derrick is an instrument used in construction for heavy lifting that got its name from a famous London hangman named Godfrey Derrick. He built the sturdy gallows that he used to hang 3,000 souls. Since items that were hung from cranes tended to sway while loading a ship, longshoremen called them "derricks" after the executioner's device.

That's really interesting! Though I'm not sure it will be something that truly sticks in my mind even with its morbid history! Lol.