# The phony etymology thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 8, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661 "2006-10-08T00:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/1 "2006-10-08T00:06:40Z")
Here’s a game. Try and invent a plausible, but totally false etymology for a word or phrase. The real origin should have been addressed on a word-origin site such as [Word origins](http://www.word-detective.com/back-q.html#ok) or [Word Of The Day](http://tinyurl.com/hzwq2) Like this: **Nerd** : originally spelt _nerred_. A _nerred_ is a geeky kid that all the cool kids go ner-ner-ner- at. **OK** derives from yoga meditation, where you try to gain a sense of peace, or okay-ness. The word derives from the [position of the hands](http://relaxation.energie.free.fr/meditation.jpg), the thumb and forefinger form a ring or ‘O’ shape, while the other three fingers spread out forming a ‘K.’ ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/2 "2006-10-09T18:59:46Z")
No replies? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/3 "2006-10-09T19:14:15Z")
politics: from the Greek _poly-_ meaning “many” and the English _ticks_ meaning “small, bloodsucking creatures.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/4 "2006-10-09T19:16:49Z")
Expert, from _ex-_ meaning “has been” and _spurt_ meaning “a drip under pressure” ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/5 "2006-10-09T19:31:54Z")
**hurricane** : (n) 1. Indicating a tropical storm of massive proportions, with winds over gale forces. [Derived from Latin: _“harris”_ meaning worried, or scared, and _“canis”_ meaning dog, as Romans would note their horses would act up before earthquakes (using “equus” and “quacus”), and that dogs would frequently run inland from the seas days before massive storms in from the Mediterranean would make landfall] Tripler IIRC, the Etruscans invented horses and dogs, and so named them. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/6 "2006-10-09T19:32:01Z")
anaphylaxis (n): the state of severe systemic shock in a person’s body as a result of allergic reaction, often in response to ingesting higly-allergenic substances such as peanuts; named after George Washington Carver’s arch-nemesis **Annie Phylachus** who, during hand-to-hand combat with Carver after becoming jealous of his successes with peanut recipes, reached down his throat and throttled him from the inside. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/7 "2006-10-10T00:35:51Z")
mutual (adj.): of or pertaining to both members of a two-party relationship, from the Greek _mutos_, things, and _ul_, that are dually engaged in. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/8 "2006-10-10T19:06:34Z")
September (n): The ninth month of the Gregorian calendar, originally named “Ember” after its surprisingly high number of uncomfortably hot days; since then it was renamed after the fact that all other months have really nifty holidays, **except Ember**. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/9 "2006-10-11T07:35:43Z")
So, does anyone have a fake origin for[ul] [li]P’s & Q’s[/li][li]The real McCoy[/li][li]The whole nine yards[/li][\*}Full Monty [li]A rock and a hard place[/li][li]Brass Monkeys[/li][li]Kangaroo court[/li][/ul] Be plausible, be original, don’t just copy existing myths. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/10 "2006-10-17T21:12:54Z")
I can’t let this thread die. It’s got too much potential. I COMMAND YOU TO LIVE! flagellate (v.): to cause to become weak or fragile, usually by repeated blows or strikes; originally _enfragillate_. rigamarole (v.): the act of establishing a change in the sense of morale, through artificial means; (n.) the state of mind after someone had _rigged a morale_. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/11 "2006-10-18T15:54:44Z")
_Mind your Ps and Qs_ is a saying that stems from the Battle of Britain during World War II. While London was being pounded by German bombs, it was all Londoners could do to maintain their dignity and quiet pride. In keeping their infamous stiff upper lip, they strove to maintain daily routine during these times of strife. Milkmen and paperboys scrambled over shattered building ruins to deliver their wares. Actors, actresses and other famous radio personalities bravely crooned and hawked into microphones to be heard over the din of the falling bombs. In public schools, now meeting in lonely towns far from the clash of armies, upperclassmen kept up their daily hazing of gawky Welsh newbies. But above all else, Britons did what all good Britons do all day - they stood in queues. It didn’t matter whether the queue went anywhere; simply _standing_ in one was a way for the common citizen to thumb their nose at Hitler. Soon, daily Peace Queue rallies were held, and competitions were held where contestants would bravely try to claim the record for longest time standing in a queue. Peace Queue fever gripped the nation after Queen Elizabeth stood in line for a stick of chewing gum in a pidgeon-festooned Trafalgar Square on a grim Wednesday afternoon. It all came to a sad end on May 8, 1945, when Winston Churchill cowardly proclaimed the Allies’ victory over Germany, and ceased military aggression. The Peace Queue phenomenon, which did so much to bring people together in harmony, was the first casuality of this harsh new world. That is why, to this day, we celebrate May 8 as Peace Queue Day, as a reminder to everyone: “Mind the Peace, and the Queue.” Later, an American newspaper editor abbreviated the phrase to “mind your Ps and Qs”, which really made no sense whatsoever, but at least it secured some extra space for a Macey’s ad for a womens’ undergarments sale at the bottom of the column. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/12 "2006-10-18T16:36:42Z")
The **mosquito** was so named because the keening of its wings resembles the sound of the call to prayer from the minarets of a **mosque**. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/13 "2006-10-18T19:14:07Z")
The Spanish verb [_sonreir_](http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_es/entry?lb=e&p=num%3As20656) has several inflected forms, including _sonreis_. A Tijuana bartender invented a cocktail which he dubbed _una tequila sonreis_, or “tequila make you smile”, but the last word became corrupted by English-speaking imbibers, and the drink is now known as a **tequila sunrise**. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/14 "2006-10-19T01:48:56Z")
**Lemonade** : n. From the French: “The Monade” _Le_ “The” and _Monade_ “Stuff I just beat to a pulp.” It is a little-known fact that Napolean Bonaparte’s nickname in grammar school was _lemonade_. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/15 "2006-10-20T23:52:08Z")
baggage claim (n): a place in the airport where a traveler may pick up his or her luggage; so named because that’s where they _claim_ your baggage will be found. cuss (v.): short verbal epithets usually involving subjects of a profane nature; originated from interactions between customers and customer service personnel. insurance (n.): a business transaction where a customer (see “cuss”, above) pays a premium to an insurer in exchange for monetary financial protection; so named because the process is designed to make one surly. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phony-etymology-thread/375661/16 "2006-10-21T03:19:28Z")
**The Full Monty** is a term that comes from the period immediately after the Second World War. After the war, [Viscount Montgomery of Alamein](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Law_Montgomery%2C_1st_Viscount_Montgomery_of_Alamein) had a reputation for coming uninvited to the homes of the rich, famous, and powerful, eating every bit of food in the house, and acting like an overall pain in the wazoo. The term started out as being ironic, and evolved into its current meanings at the hands of people who didn’t know any better.