# Titbits ?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 15, 2004, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235 "2004-07-15T10:09:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/1 "2004-07-15T10:09:35Z")
Last week I asked if members here said either **Tig** or **Tag** when playing chasing games in their youth and discovered that people all over the world used _Tag_ except those with a link to south Scotland/Yorkshire who said _Tig_
This time it’s not exactly the same thing but I’m interested in who uses the word **titbits** as oppoed to **tidbits**. I didn’t even know that there were 2 different names until my g/f asked me if I wanted any (‘tidbits’ that is!).
Merriam-Webster online says :
Main Entry: tid·bit
Etymology: perhaps from tit- (as in titmouse) + bit
1 : a choice morsel of food
But tit-bit in the same dictionary gives me :
Main Entry: tit·bit
variant of TIDBIT
So am I alone in my titbit requests?
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### Author:  [@lemon\_martini2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lemon_martini2)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/2 "2004-07-15T10:16:47Z")
tidbit is the PC version which removes ‘tit’ from it ☹ fearing all we men will go into uncontrollable molestations…
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### Author:  [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/3 "2004-07-15T10:35:43Z")
I recently read Bill Bryson’s book about the history of English, and in it he said that the original English term was ‘titbits’, but that this was changed to ‘tidbits’ by the Americans at a time when rude words were to be avoided.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/4 "2004-07-15T10:59:53Z")
Titbits for me, please. (And I fdon’t mean the “adult-interest” publication of that name.) My dictionary says:
> [@](#):
>
> **titbit** \*or esp. U.S. \ ***tidbit** …
One question from me - if you spell it with a “d” do you pronounce it with a “d” also? Tidbits sounds funny to me, as you lose the internal rhyme.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/5 "2004-07-15T12:38:59Z")
The OED gives a first cite for “tidbit” as 1640; first for “titbit” was 1694. It’s etymology section indicates that “tidbit” was first. “Tid” seems to have mean “delicate.” Most likely “titbit” was created by folk etymology, changing “tid” to the more familiar “tit,” meaning “small.”
The source of the quotes are all British, so the idea of Americans corrupting it is unlikely (especially when you consider the dates of first use).
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/6 "2004-07-15T12:45:31Z")
Re: Bill Bryson, I love his books, and I’ve read the one **Wanderers** mentions, but he is not the most thorough researcher. His books, especially the ones on language, contain several errors, so I wouldn’t take his “tidbit” of information as gospel.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/7 "2004-07-15T13:09:16Z")
> [@Colophon](#):
>
> One question from me - if you spell it with a “d” do you pronounce it with a “d” also?
Yes, yes I do. And after reading **RealityChuck** ’s post, I will proudly continue to do so—unless I’m referring to bits of actual tits.
I’ve seen both spellings, but “titbits” far les commonly and only in British contexts.
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### Author:  [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/8 "2004-07-15T13:54:28Z")
I’ve always heard _tidbits_ around here, except for the following example:
“Lurleen gave back her engagement ring the night Stan _titbit_ her.”
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/9 "2004-07-15T14:08:21Z")
I cannot recall EVER hearing TITbits.
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titbits/255235/10 "2004-07-15T14:37:29Z")
People of a certain age from the UK would remember a wonderful magazine called Titbits. This closed in 1984 after almost 100 years of publication. As its name suggested it published varied articles of a light hearted nature and was very popular at one time.