Bouncing baby boy.

[mangeorge]

Somebody just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. Sounds awful in my literal mind.
I have two daughters, both grown now, and have seen probably thousands of babies, and not a one ever bounced in my presence. And I’ve never thought “bounce” upon seeing a baby. There is a birthing method where such a thing would be possible, I guess, but I’m sure anti-bounce measures are in place.
Okay, cut to the chase. Where did the phrase come from? And do baby girls bounce too?
Peace,
mangeorge

[Exapno_Mapcase]

The Maven’s Word of the Day

Q. I just learned that a friend recently had a bouncing baby boy, but it is my experience that babies really don’t bounce well. Where did this phrase come from?

A. How about a “bouncing swaggering puppy” (Goldsmith) or a "bouncing but well-disposed young woman (Waugh)? In these examples, as in most cases, the adjective bouncing is used in the meaning ‘vigorous’ that harks back to the earliest meaning of the verb bounce. …

So your bouncing baby boy is a vigorous child who’s likely to bound around and make a lot of noise. The implication is that the child is healthy, as opposed to a weak baby who doesn’t move much. The expression has probably lasted because it alliterates so nicely; Thomas Fuller used it in his 1662 The History of the Worthies of England: “…Elmeby…where this bouncing babe Bonner was born.”

Aside the alliteration, it’s not used with girls because they historically aren’t expected to exhibit or be rewarded for noise and activity.