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- etymology - Where did the phrase batsh*t crazy come from? - English . . .
The word crazy is a later addition Scanning Google Books I find a handful of references starting from the mid-60s where batshit is clearly just a variation on bullshit (nonsense, rubbish) - which meaning still turns up even in 2001, but it's relatively uncommon now Here's a relatively early one from 1967 where the meaning is crazy A decade later most references have this meaning, but the
- What are some good sites for researching etymology? [closed]
Here is an example of a directed graph: It works in multiple languages, providing etymology data, descendants, related words and more It also has a pretty quick search, and the index is constantly growing in the number of words and slowly growing in accuracy too
- etymology - What is the origin of the phrase buck naked? - English . . .
The phrase buck naked is well known and means quot;completely naked quot; It is synonymous to butt naked and stark naked, both self-explanatory However, there are a few confusing aspects to the
- etymology - Why is pineapple in English but ananas in all other . . .
In Spanish, it's also called piña The etymology of "pineapple" and a few other words is nicely illustrated at Europe etymology maps
- etymology - What is the origin of the idiom jig is up? - English . . .
The OED find the etymology of the word "jig" in its various meanings to be uncertain but traces the meaning of practical joke back to 1590 So when someone says "the jig is up," he means that he's no longer fooled by the pretense The expression "the game is over" means the same thing: the trickster has been caught out in playing the trick
- etymology - Where did the word “quim” come from? - English Language . . .
Both the OED and Etymonline offer no clue as to origin of the slang term quim, meaning minge The OED’s earliest citations are from the 18th, which isn’t quite as old as Adam, but has certainly been
- etymology - Origin of fag (meaning a cigarette in British English . . .
Aside from the offensive meaning, colloquial British English uses the term fag to indicate a cigarette James has gone outside for a fag In my googling, I thought perhaps this originates from one
- etymology - What gave terrific a positive connotation? - English . . .
Possible Duplicate: How and why have some words changed to a complete opposite? I have noticed that: horrible means bad terrible means bad horrific means bad So why does terrific mean good?
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