Is the term “guy wire” perhaps a lazy way of saying “guide wire”? Could that be the origin of this odd term? Or, is it a masculine thing that guy wires are strong?
Here.
50 lashes with wet noodle for you. This doesn’t answer the question about the origin of the phrase…although I did not review the millions of Google hits. Really, if I wanted a Google response, I would have asked Google. That’s why there’s the SD!
guy
2 /gaɪ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [gahy] Show IPA noun, verb, guyed, guy⋅ing.
–noun
- a rope, cable, or appliance used to guide and steady an object being hoisted or lowered, or to secure anything likely to shift its position.
–verb (used with object) - to guide, steady, or secure with a guy or guys.
**Origin:
1300–50; ME gye < OF guie a guide, deriv. of guier to guide
**
Well… if it comes to simple one shot word definitions and etymology do you think someone here is going to have a better definition than the dictionary?
From the google link above here is the definition. I don’t see how an “SD” response is going to be more edifying for you.
Says my “Concise Dictionary of English Etymology”.
I’m posting this not to disagree with the previous reply, but simply because I found myself interested in what the answer was and when I looked it up and came back, lo and behold there was an answer to the O.P., but slightly different from mine. So now I fear this thread will help me procrastinate for today, as it strikes me that I had never properly wondered before what the origin was.
Peter Morris’s one, from ***guier ***(to guide) sounds pretty good, I think. Good excuse for me to buy a new dictionary of etymology? (Rubs hands with glee)
I believe it was named after the French nobleman Guy Le Weir, who was a big supporter of the Poles.
Heh! 
The Online Etymology Dictionary says from O.Fr. guie “a guide,”