Word Origins

Word origins have always been a fascinating subject for me.  I decided, one day, to compile a list of them thinking it would be an interesting “read,” so here we go.

As many of you will recall, the Dutch people, at one time, wore wooden shoes called Sabots.  During the Industrial Revolution, the new machinery was putting many of the Dutchmen out of work and there were many riots against the new mechanizations.  During these riots, they would throw their wooden shoes into the machine works thereby sabotaging the machines that were taking their jobs.

When telephones came into widespread use, the word “Phoney” was used to describe how people sounded on the new devices.

In the early days of the automobile, one of the finest was a Duesenberg.  In its day, the Duesenberg was a luxury automobile, built to fine tolerances, a little like the Rolls Royce of today.  Ever since then, anything that was a “cut above” the ordinary has been referred to as a “Doozy.”

In the early days of road building, the good roads were built on the high ground above the flood plane and they came to be known as High Ways, and that’s where the term originates.

The original toilets were invented by a man named Thomas Crapper, and his name became the slang moniker for the toilets that followed.  Sadly, for him, his name also became associated with the stuff that is deposited in the toilet.