# I hate backronyms and folk etymologies. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110 "2014-07-26T17:54:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/41 "2014-07-28T15:00:39Z")
My favorite is the one that says that the word “politician” comes from the Greek “poly”, meaning many (as in polygon or polymer), and the French “tête”, meaning head. Meaning that the most prominent feature that distinguishes politicians from the regular public is that they have more than one head or face, e.g. as in the expression “two-faced”, meaning someone who won’t commit to a point of view and changes their point of view to schmooze with whomever they are with right now. In reality, the word comes from the Greek “polis”, meaning “city”. Which explains why you have to be a citizen (a _cit_y den_izen_) to take part (e.g. vote, run for office) in politics (the stuff of the city). ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/42 "2014-07-28T15:48:06Z")
Some Latin-related ones: The Canary Islands are not named after the bird. The Romans called them Insulae Canariae, i.e. “dog islands”. The bird that is called the canary is called a canary because it was from the Canary Islands. The Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church are not called “Cardinals” because they wear red robes that are tinted the color of cardinals (the bird). The birds are named that because they are of the color of the robes traditionally worn by Cardinals. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/43 "2014-07-28T15:54:50Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > … > How was “hep” based on an acronym? I have heard the rumor that “hep”, as a part of the expression “hip hip hurray!”, comes from the Crusaders. The hep (or “hip” as it is commonly spelled today) came from the Latin acronym HEP, Hierosolyma Est Perdita, i.e. “Jerusalem is lost”, which is largely the justification that the Crusaders gave for actually going on Crusades. Cecil actually [tried](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/747/was-hip-hip-hurrah-originally-an-anti-semitic-taunt) to tackle this one, but apparently there isn’t enough evidence to really tell. ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/44 "2014-07-28T16:03:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > When he dumped his ride, something shifted loose upstairs. This is the truth. That guy has several loose screws. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/45 "2014-07-28T16:06:00Z")
> [@weef](#): > > I never knew this one: > > The official title of the USA PATRIOT Act, a 2001 Act of the U.S. Congress, is “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001” > > That’s a serious WTF… I bet making up these terrible acronyms is the highlight of some overworked Congressional staffer’s day. > [@MEBuckner](#): > > Ah, yes, good old folk etymologies. (Originally from FOLK, acronym for “_f_allacious _o_rigin in _l_ieu of _k_nowledge” + “etymology”.) AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHH! > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > My favorite is the one that says that the word “politician” comes from the Greek “poly”, meaning many (as in polygon or polymer), and the French “tête”, meaning head. Or the even-less-funny joke version, “politics = poly, meaning many, and ticks, or blood-sucking creatures.” This is usually shared by people who think “Congress is the opposite of Congress” is clever. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/46 "2014-07-28T16:23:04Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > My favorite is the one that says that the word “politician” comes from the Greek “poly”, meaning many (as in polygon or polymer), and the French “tête”, meaning head. Hmmm? The joke is that \*politics \*comes from _poly_, meaning many, and _tics_, meaning blood-sucking insects. ETA: NM. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/47 "2014-07-28T16:23:40Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Minor nitpick: Aren’t the full titles and acronyms usually invented before the laws are passed? So strictly speaking they’re not backronyms. No, a backronym is an acronym made to fit an existing word. So they wanted to call it the PATRIOT act, and then figured out what words fit to make it work. It doesn’t have to be a false etymology that comes after the fact. ETA: See the [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym) article on it and the COLBERT example. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/48 "2014-07-28T16:24:12Z")
The verb form of LASER is “to lase”. Gaaahhh. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/49 "2014-07-28T16:41:30Z")
That stupid POSH etymology was related to me just two days ago by a man with a master’s degree in chemistry. I guess nobody is immune from The Stupid. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/50 "2014-07-28T17:47:15Z")
Another stupid backronym is that golf = Gentleman Only Ladies Forbidden. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/51 "2014-07-28T17:54:46Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The verb form of LASER is “to lase”. Which we all know means “to bluff.” So you’re probably playing cards, and he cheated! ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/52 "2014-07-28T17:59:34Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Hmmm? The joke is that \*politics \*comes from _poly_, meaning many, and _tics_, meaning blood-sucking insects. > > ETA: NM. Are ticks insects? ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/53 "2014-07-28T19:08:51Z")
Slightly off topic but I knew a woman who thought “laissez-faire” economics was said “laser-fair”. And it meant like a crazy light show. As in “The NDP (social democratic party in Canada) is all about laser-fair economics. Its just like a crazy light show at a roller rink, everything going this way and that.” Yes, she lived in a trailer park. No, she did not have many teeth. No, I have no clue how she even knew the term “laissez-fair” economics. Her first language was French. :smack: She was my babysitter’s sister, and that is how I met her. I declined her offer to watch my child when her sister moved away. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/54 "2014-07-28T19:16:13Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Are ticks insects? Welcome to the Dope. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/55 "2014-07-28T20:09:42Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > A similar exercise, but no one pretended it was real. > > FORD: > Found on the road dead > Fix or repair daily > For only rolling downhill > F\*\*\*ing old rebuilt dodge > > Gradually, the fake acronyms expressed actual (alleged) traits of the brand, as opposed to schoolyard taunts. > > HONDA > Hit Oldsmobile, no drive anymore > (from when Honda only made small cars) > > TOYOTA > They overcharge you out the ass > (from a few years later, when Japanese brands were in great demand) > > And the all-time champ: > > FIAT > Fix it again, Tony Two additions: Ford: First On Race Day Toyota: Try Our Yucky Old Toy Automobile ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/56 "2014-07-28T20:59:00Z")
^ SABENA (the airline): Such A Bad Experience, Never Again (ETA: Oh, I guess it’s now the long-defunct airline, apparently ceasing operations in 2001.) ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/57 "2014-07-28T22:17:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > ^ SABENA (the airline): Such A Bad Experience, Never Again (ETA: Oh, I guess it’s now the long-defunct airline, apparently ceasing operations in 2001.) DELTA: Doesn’t Ever Leave The Airport. I told the Delta agent this during one of those five hour delays in thirty minute increments so you can’t really leave the gate. She was not amused. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/58 "2014-07-28T22:32:04Z")
There is one I have tried to explain to young soldiers. The term pogue is old slang going back to at least WWII with a meaning similar to REMF (rear echelon mother fucker). Some time in the not too distant past people started using POG (but still pronounced the same as pogue) as a derogatory term for those not in the infantry. POG stands for Personnel Other than Grunt. Many of the younger crowd don’t want to believe that it is a backronym of an earlier term. But those are the same people who tend to still spout the propaganda their Drill Sergeants said long after basic. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/59 "2014-07-29T01:20:27Z")
The airline and auto company ones don’t bug me, probably because no one pretends they’re anything other than jokes. The pseudoetymological ones that people will tell you with absolute faith in their truth, like posh 'n so on, those’re the ones that get me all spittle-frothing-ragey. And Gary Busey’s stuff is just because WTF, man. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-backronyms-and-folk-etymologies/694110/60 "2014-07-29T01:36:40Z")
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