Category: Word Trivia

post road – One with a series of post-houses or stations for post-horses; a road on which mail was carried. More…

nixie – Any piece of mail that is unable to be forwarded because it is illegibly or incorrectly addressed. More…

post – Latin posita, “placed,” gave us Italian posta, “station on a road,” and became French poste, “a station for mail”—from the series of stations that fast horsemen traversed to deliver messages, giving us post, as in “mail system.” More…

blackmail – The “mail” in blackmail is Scottish for “tax, tribute,” referring to the tribute demanded by rebel chiefs in return for their protection. More…

impromptu – Based on Latin in promptu, “in readiness,” from promptus, “prepared, ready.” More…

procinct – A state of readiness or preparation. More…

stand by – Meaning “to await, support,” it was an order to hold one’s self in readiness, recorded from 1669. More…

gear – Its etymological meaning is “that which puts one in a state of readiness.” More…

pod – A group of whales (or seals or dolphins), or a small flock of birds. More…

boll weevil – From Old English wifel, “beetle,” and boll, the pod of the cotton plant, which this beetle attacks. More…

chalice – From Latin calix, “cup,” and Greek kalux, “pod.” More…

vanilla – Once thought to be an aphrodisiac because its pod resembled the vagina; its name comes from the Spanish for “little vagina.” More…

inequity, iniquity – Inequity is “injustice, unfairness”; iniquity refers to “immorality, sin, wickedness.” More…

remission, remit – Remission originally meant forgiveness or pardon for an offense or sin, and remit meant “forgive, pardon.” More…

reprehensible – Usually applied to things, not people—the sin and not the sinner. More…

assoil – To pardon or atone for a sin. More…

angry – Describing a wound or sore that is red and inflamed. More…

merry-gall – A sore produced by chafing. More…

sore – As a noun, it first meant generally “physical pain and suffering.” More…

chafe, chaff – To chafe means to rub until sore or worn; to chaff means to tease good-naturedly. More…

ardent spirits – Strong alcoholic liquors made by distillation, as brandy, whiskey, or gin. More…

bourbon – Named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, an American whiskey made from at least 51 percent corn, plus other grains (all bourbons are whiskey, but not all whiskeys are bourbon); whiskey is an alcoholic liquor distilled from grain, such as corn, rye, or barley, and contains approximately 40 to 50 percent ethyl alcohol by volume. More…

scat – Slang for whiskey. More…

brand name – The term originated with whiskey, as the producers branded their names on the barrels. More…

train shed – A large structure sheltering tracks and platforms of a railroad station. More…

hangar – Simply meant “shed” for carriages when it came into English. More…

shebang – May come from an Irish name for a speakeasy—shebeen—so the “whole shebeen” was the whole drinking establishment; shebang also first meant “hut, shed, dwelling.” More…

shoding, shed – The part in a person’s hair is the shoding or shed. More…

coals to Newcastle – Something brought or sent to a place where it is already plentiful; it is a reference to the English town of Newcastle upon Tyne, historically a major coal exporter. More…

envoy – Pronounced EN-voy, it literally means “sent on one’s way.” More…

epistle – From Greek epistole, “something sent to someone.” More…

India ink – Originally applied to Chinese and Japanese pigments made into solid blocks and sent to Europe through India. More…

biathlon – Consists of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. More…

off-hand – Meaning “at once, straightway,” it probably originally referred to shooting without a rest or support; as “unpremeditated,” it is attested to 1719. More…

potshot – Comes from shooting an animal purely for food (pot), rather than for simple conquest. More…

scope – First meant “target for shooting,” from Greek skopos, “target.” More…

suggest – To suggest something is, etymologically, to “carry it under,” from Latin sub-, “under” and gerere, “bring, carry.” More…

addubitation – The suggestion of a doubt. More…

lonely, lonesome, forlorn, desolate – Lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship, while lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness; forlorn and desolate are even more isolated and sad. More…

suggestion – Started out as “prompting to evil, temptation by the devil.” More…