Complex Numbers

War Words

Nothing deep or controversial today, for a change.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/58233/21-slang-terms-world-war-i

20 Slang Terms From World War I

I just find word origins fascinating. Mind you, I didn't fact-check any of these, but the author seems to have done his homework.

So if you ever wanted to know where words like "Blighty" (nickname for England) or "strafe" came from, well, here you go.

I'm wary of etymologies, by the way. That's why I said the bit about fact-checking above. I get tired of hearing people proclaiming that, for instance, the lovely English word "fuck" originated as "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" or "Fornicating Under Consent of the King." Those backronyms have been debunked time and time again, but like much bad information, they have sticking power.

One time I got an earful from a woman who heard me use the phrase "rule of thumb." She screeched at me about how that's sexist and hateful because "it's from an old law that you could only beat your wife with a stick as big around as your thumb."

This, of course, is utter twaddle - it comes from a way of estimating lengths, or something like that - but I doubt she ever let go of her dearly-held belief. Victimhood can be alluring.

Point is, don't take any etymology as the last and final word (see what I did there) on the subject. Still - interesting stuff.