fuzz
This slang term for the police dates to 1924. The origin is unknown. From an article about pickpockets in the Los Angeles Times of 30 January of that year:
A “mob” can “beat a pap” to the “leather” and get away with it with the ordinary “fuzz” lookin’ on.
While the origin is unknown, one 1931 source, Godfrey Irwin’s American Tramp and Underworld Slang, proffers the following:
Fuzz, a detective; a prison guard or turnkey. Here it is likely that “fuzz” was originally “fuss,” one hard to please or over-particular.
Explanations that the term stems from Fuzzy Wuzzy the poetic bear or, bear, the slang term for a policeman are incorrect. This slang sense of Bear does not appear until 1975 and is a reference to the “Smokey the Bear” hats that state troopers often wear.
(Sources: Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition; Historical Dictionary of American Slang; ADS-L)
Grammar Girl: Quick & Dirty Tips
Grammar Girl: Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing
A twice-a-week podcast and blog on writing and style issues. Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. the Grammar Girl, is one of the more sensible prescriptivists out there. The site should be added to the RSS feed or, at a minimum, bookmark list of any serious writer. And if you’re into listening to podcasts, the audio version is well worth the few minutes a week it takes to listen.
Georgia
The US state of Georgia is named after King George II who granted a colonial charter to James Oglethorpe and a group of other trustees in 1732. Oglethorpe named the colony after his patron.
The etymology of the name of the Eurasian country is disputed. The most likely explanation is that the name is a transliteration of the Russian for the Gurz or Gurdzh people who occupied the land in ancient times. Others have linked the country to Saint George, the 3rd century soldier in Emperor Diocletian’s army who was martyred for his Christian faith and who, according to legend, fought and vanquished a dragon.
(Sources: Illustrated Dictionary of Place Names; Webster’s Third New International Dictionary; Place Names of the World)
Columbia
Columbia is a poetic name for the United States or even more broadly the Americas. It is, of course, a feminized version of the name Columbus. Use of a feminized form of Columbus’s name to refer to the new world began in England As early as the mid-17th century. Nicolas Fuller, an English clergyman, wrote in his 1660 Miscellanea Sacra:
[...] is every where called America: but according to Truth, and Desert; men should rather call it Columbina, from the magnani mous Heroe Christopher Columbus
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free lunch
Despite the claims of rabid science fiction fans, the phrase there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch began its life as a joke that was commonly told by economists in the first half of the 20th century.
The joke goes that one day a king assembled his advisors and asked them to summarize the essence of economics wisdom. One by one, the advisors delivered lengthy treatises on the subject. Angry that they weren’t doing what he had asked, the king had them executed. When it came to his turn one wise advisor, realizing what was happening, summed up all of economics wisdom in there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, pleasing the king and sparing his life.
Copyright 1997-2008, by David Wilton