Origins #18 (by request) Blue Laws

The concept of a ‘Blue law’ has a puritan background, from Massachusetts Bay colony (I found a reference to New Haven colony also. It was probably common in different colonies.) A  “blue law” refers to an edict designed to regulate public activities on the Sabbath, which meant Sunday to the Congregationalists of that day.

Why ‘blue’ though?

The origin of the term blue law is disputed. Many authorities have argued that some of the early laws, or a book describing the regulations, were printed on blue paper.

Pretty simple, right? Blue papers, blue laws.

This information (along with much more on the topic) courtesy of u-s-history.com.

Origins #17: Why a fast day is called a “fast”

The point of this post, believe it or not, is about the choice of the word ‘fast’ to symbolize the abstention from food, drink, et cetera. Anybody who has fasted will tell you that these days feel like the slowest days of the year.

The first (of many) definitions for the word ‘fast’ is:

1 a : firmly fixed <roots fast in the ground> b : tightly shut <the drawers were fast> c : adhering firmly d : not easily freed : stuck <a ball fast in the mouth of the cannon> e : stable <movable items were made fast to the deck>

The idea seems to be indicating a firm adherence to the religious ritual of abstaining from food for a specified period. It would take willpower and firmness of resolve. Anybody who has fasted knows this quite well.

Site of the Week: howjsay.com – A free online Talking Dictionary of English Pronunciation

The tagline basically says it all. It’s an online dictionary that pronounces words for you. I thought this was a pretty cool resource, especially for those who could use more English help. It’s especially helpful because there are currently 132,358 entries in this dictionary. I haven’t listened to them all, but the ones I listened to seemed to be correct. There”s actually a cool FireFox plugin so you can just type in the word and it will pronounce it. You can add that by clicking here.

The site seems to be kind-of bare and without any flavor, and has way too many ads, but I guess they’ve taken the “Hey, it’s free – don’t complain” route, which is fine by me.

Site of the Week: howjsay.com

Origins #16: Doubting Thomas

Thomas The Apostle

Doubting Thomas is a term used to describe someone who will refuse to believe something without direct, physical, personal evidence; a skeptic.

I’ve used this term many times, and had no idea that we get this expression from Christianity! Live and learn.

Thomas the Apostle claimed he wouldn’t believe in the resurrection until he actually touched the wounds of Jesus. Jesus understood Thomas’ doubt and invited him to do just that. But according to the Gospel of John, Jesus also included this gentle rebuke: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (John 20:29)

Origin courtesy of Merriam-Webster, and it can be found here. Thanks to Kim for bringing it to my attention.

Origins #15: (Reading someone) the Riot Act

Reading the Riot Act

On the Merriam-Webster website, one that I visit frequently, they have an area on the site with TOP 10 LISTS. Today’s origin comes from the Top 10 Words Born in Conflict. While all ten are interesting, I think one is more interesting than the others, so I’ve chosen to highlight the Riot Act.

If someone “reads the riot act to you”, they’ve got something to say, and it isn’t pleasant.

The origin, courtesy of the site:

In the early 18th century, the Riot Act was something actually read aloud – by the agents of King George I, who used it to break up gatherings of more than twelve people by ordering them to disperse within an hour. (One practical issue: it can be challenging to read something audibly during a riot.)

The term’s meaning has changed over the centuries, but it still suggests a serious offense.

Another example of an origin that is pretty clear and based in history, which makes me enjoy it even more. You can find a complete list of the Top 10 Lists here.

Origins #14: Keeping Score, Keeping Tally, Shares, and Stocks

Tally Stick

I get a phrase (and its origin) sent to me via email every week. You can subscribe by clicking here and scrolling down to the bottom of the page.

This week’s phrase is ‘in the nick of time’, and it’s pretty interesting, but that’s not the reason for this post. There is a little tidbit thrown in there as an aside, which I found really interesting.

In order to provide some context, I’m going to do a little copy-and-paste from the post. (Pay more attention when you get to the note.)

…Prior to the 16th century there was another expression used to convey that meaning – ‘pudding time’. This relates to the fact that pudding was the dish served first at mediaeval mealtimes. To arrive at pudding time was to arrive at the start of the meal, just in time to eat…

…That seems a perfectly serviceable idiom, so why did the Tudors change it to ‘the nick of time’? The motivation appears to be the desire to express a finer degree of timing than the vague ‘around the beginning of the meal’. The nick that was being referred to was a notch or small cut and was synonymous with precision. Such notches were used on ‘tally’ sticks to measure or keep score…

Note: the expressions ‘keeping score‘ and ‘keeping tally‘ derive from this and so do ‘stocks‘ and ‘shares‘, which refer to the splitting of such sticks (stocks) along their length and sharing the two matching halves as a record of a deal.

It’s interesting that from a stick that used to have marks in it we get such ubiquitous terms that span sports and business.

Cool, no?

Origins #13: Marshmallow

I never knew what the origin was, and I just saw it on a list of Merriam-Webster’s Top 10 Words of Summer. You can see it here.

The marshmallow gets its name from the mallow plant that grows in marshes.

In ancient times, sap from the root of that plant was used to make medicinal syrup and ointment. Eventually, that same sap became a source of candy.

Today’s supermarket marshmallow is untouched by root sap. It’s made from corn syrup, gelatin, egg whites, and sugar.

Golly that sure is simple, right? With all the crazy origins out there in the English language, sometimes it’s nice to see one that is simple and clean!

Word of the Day that I enjoyed

I receive a few Words-of-the-day every day, and some of them strike me more than others.

Yesterday’s Word of the Day from dictionary.com was ruth:

1. Compassion or pity for another.

2. Sorrow or misery about one’s own misdeeds or flaws.

3. In the Bible, a Moabite woman who married Boaz and became an ancestor of David: the daughter-in-law of Naomi.

4. Book of the Bible bearing her name.

5. A female given name.

One of the things I love about this word is that it’s not used very frequently. We’re all familiar with the more common word ruthless, meaning having no pity – merciless, cruel. I don’t think I’ve ever said, “Hey you know who’s pretty ruth? Jerry.”