Concern for language and its origin parallels our attitude towards our economic system; when working well they both generate little interest. However, let an inflation roar out of an OPEC agreement and suddenly everyone yearns to know the difference between CPI and PPI. The COMEX results replace sports scores on the news. Yesterday, I heard a teenager's parent laying down the law, chapter and verse, for a curfew violation (the joys of apartment living) and after the twenty minute haranguing oration was completed the young person responded "whatever." I immediately was thrust back to Miss Mulhearn's 10th grade English class and her dire summation of George Orwell's 1984. "One day the goal of the Newspeak dictionary will be achieved-a one word language!" As you can imagine, we fifteen-year-old swine were unable to grasp the meaning of these pearls of wisdom being cast before us. "WHATEVER!" [ http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/1984.htm -- Nineteen Eighty-Four ]
Following both my cultural tendencies towards scholarship and my congenital inclination to hopelessness, I did not form a revolutionary cell, but rather withdrew into a cloistered study of etymology and phrase origins. If you are disappointed with my lack of social consciousness, my only rejoinder is "whatever." [http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/042... -etymology ]
I began my trek with a dictionary, thesaurus, a word history text and a cup of Traditional Medicinals' "Smooth Move" tea. (Worth noting-Thomas Crapper did not invent the commode and going out on a date with his daughter was not the origin of that other crude phrase.) My quest was slow to develop. It seemed that none of my friends were going to be fonts of assistance or inspiration.
Persistence and perspiration soon yielded dividends. For example, "what the dickens does Charles Dickens have to do with "what the dickens did you do that for?" Fortunately, he has nothing to do with the expression. Among the several theories, the one that I support proposes that dickens was used before Charles' existence as a contraction for "devilkins". What amazes me is that before undertaking this project. I assumed it contained some reference to Charles Dickens. What must I have been thinking? That the behavior was conducted in a "Bumbling" manner, or there were Twists that I could not comprehend and possibly it was an Artful way to Dodge responsibility for one's outlandish behavior. [ http://www.funkandwagnalls.com/encyclope... --Etymology bibliography]
My next example comes from the domains of spelling errors and word origins. Carousel and carousal are frequently confused. A carousel is a merry-go-round ride derived from the Italian carosello. (A tournament featuring cavalry.) Carousal is a wild drunken bash where you may be desirous of a merry go round with a person of a complimentary gender.
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