Word of the Month: Alcohol

1 October 2004

Usually our word of the month is linked thematically with a current or historical event or holiday that occurs during the month in question. This is not the case this time. Instead we selected a subject arbitrarily and that subject is alcohol, n., a class of compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, specifically ethyl alcohol, an intoxicating liquid; from the medieval Latin, ultimately from the Arabic al-kuhul. The Arabic word referred to powdered antimony, used in cosmetics; applied in English to mean any powder produced by sublimation (1543); later applied to any distilled product (1642); finally to distilled liquors (1753); the specific chemical sense is from 1850.

What follows are the names of various types of liquor and other terms associated with alcohol and booze.

absinthe, n., a liqueur made from wine mixed with wormwood (modern absinthe is no longer made with wormwood); from the French name for the wormwood plant, ultimately from the Latin absinthum; 1842.

ale, n., a liquor made from fermented malt, hops, or other grains; originally distinguished from beer in that hops were not used in ale, but in modern use it differs because the grain used in ale is not roasted, resulting in a lighter brew; from the Old English alu, c.950.

aqua vitae, n., any alcoholic drink (1547), originally an alchemist’s term for any combustible liquid (1471); from the Latin meaning water of life, cf. whisky.

aquavit, n., a Scandinavian liquor distilled from potatoes; from the Scandinavian for aqua vitae, 1890.

Armagnac, n., a brandy from the Armagnac region of France, 1850.

arrack, n., a liquor distilled from fermented coco-palm sap or coconut juice, ca. 1602.

bathtub gin, n., homemade liquor, 1930.

beer, n., a liquor made from malt, hops, and other grains; from the Old English beor, ca.1000. The word was rare until the 16th C. when hops were introduced into the process and beer was used for the hopped beverage.

bitter, n., a type of beer, characterized by its taste, 1857.

bootleg, v., to trade in illicit liquor, from the practice of hiding bottles in one’s bootlegs, 1889. Also used as an adjective for illicit liquor or other articles. Also bootlegger, one who bootlegs.

booze, n., alcoholic drink, American slang from 1859. In earlier use to mean a drink of any type, 1732. From bouse meaning drink, liquor, or to drink.

bourbon, n., a type of American whiskey, originally from Bourbon County, Kentucky, 1846.

brandy, n., distilled wine. Originally brandwine, from the Dutch brandewijn, or burnt wine. Brandwine dates to 1622; the form brandy from 1657.

burgundy, n., red wine from the Burgundy region of France, 1672.

cabernet, n., a type of wine grape, from the French, 1833.

champagne, n., wine from the Champaign region of France, especially sparkling wine from this region and more generally sparkling wine from anywhere, 1664.

cider, n., fermented drink made from apples, c.1315. From the Old French sidre; ultimately from the Hebrew shekar, meaning strong drink, via the Latin and Greek.

cognac, n., brandy made in the town of Cognac, France or more generally to any French brandy, 1687.

dry, adj., related to prohibition of alcohol, favoring prohibition, 1870.

ethanol, n., 1900, also ethyl alcohol, 1869. Chemical compound, C2H5OH, that is the intoxicating compound produced by fermentation.

gin, n., grain spirit flavored with juniper berries, 1714. A clipping of geneva, meaning the same thing, 1706. From the Dutch genever, ultimately from the Latin juniperus.

grappa, n., brandy distilled from pits, stalks, and skins of grapes that have been pressed for wine, from the Italian, 1893.

hooch, n., American slang term for cheap or inferior liquor, from the name of the Hoochinoo Indians of Alaska who made a type of strong liquor. Hooch dates to 1897; the use of hoochinoo to refer to liquor is somewhat older, 1877. From the Tlingit Hutsnuwu, meaning grizzly bear fort.

lager, n., light-colored beer, brewed after the German fashion, suitable for long-term storage, 1855. A clipping of lager beer, 1853. From the German lager, meaning store, + beer.

liqueur, n., a sweetened and flavored alcoholic beverage, 1742. From liquor.

liquor, n., alcoholic beverage, originally a liquid of any type. The alcoholic beverage sense dates to ca.1300. From the Old French and ultimately the Latin.

malt, n., 1) name for barley or other grain used to produce alcoholic beverages; 2) Scottish term for drink in general, c.1547; 3) whisky made from malt, often malt whisky, 1718. From the Old English.

merlot, n., type of black wine grape, from the French, which in turn is from merle, or blackbird, an allusion to the grape’s color, 1825.

mezcal, n., alcoholic drink made from the agave plant, 1828. From the Spanish. Tequila is a variety of mezcal.

moonshine, n., illegally distilled or smuggled liquor, 1782. Probably so called because it is manufactured under cover of darkness.

pilsner, n., a lager beer with a hoppy flavor, 1877. Originally it referred to beer brewed in the town of Pilsen in Bohemia, but now is used to denote beer brewed in the Pilsner fashion.

porter, n., a type of beer brewed with partially charred or browned malt, resulting in a dark color and bitter taste, 1727. A clipping of porter’s ale or porter’s beer, a reference to the fact that the beer was originally popular among the laboring class.

poteen, n., illicitly distilled liquor made in Ireland, especially from a small, private still, 1812. From the Irish poitin, or little pot, a clipping of uisge poitín, or little pot whisky.

prohibition, n., the banning of the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages, esp. the nationwide ban in the United States that lasted from 1920-33. First used in this sense in 1851.

proof, n., a measurement of the strength of an alcoholic beverage, a full (100%) proof beverage has a specific gravity of 0.92 and is 49.5% alcohol by weight (57.3% by volume). Proof is measured by percentage, with pure alcohol being 200% proof. From having a proved or tested strength. 1705.

pulque, n., an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the agave plant, from the Spanish, the ultimate origin is unknown, probably from a Native American word, 1693.

rum runner, n., a liquor smuggler, 1920.

rum, n., an alcoholic beverage made from products of sugar cane, especially molasses, 1654. Of unknown origin, possibly a clipping of rumbullion and rumbustion, both also of unknown origin, which date to a few years earlier.

rye, n., American name for whiskey made from rye, a cereal grain, 1835. The word for the grain is from the Old English.

sangria, n., red wine diluted with lemon water and served chilled, 1961, from the Spanish for bleeding. Formerly sangaree in English usage, 1736.

sauvignon, n., a white grape used for wine, from the French.

schnapps, n., any of a variety of liqueurs with high alcoholic content, from the German for a dram, mouthful, 1818.

scotch, n., whisky from Scotland, especially that which is made from malt, 1835.

shiraz, n., a red wine grape from France, from the once-held belief that the grape was originally from the city in Persia of that name, 1927. Also called syrah, after the French name for the grape.

sour mash, n., American whisky made from fermented grain mash, 1885.

speakeasy, n., a bar or store where illegal alcohol is sold, 1889. From the idea that it should not be spoken of loudly.

spirits, n., a distilled alcoholic beverage, 1685. From an earlier sense meaning a distilled liquid containing the essence of a substance.

tequila, n., a variety of mezcal, an alcoholic beverage distilled from the fermented sap of the agave, 1849.

vodka, n., an alcoholic beverage usually distilled from rye, but also from barley, potatoes and other substances, 1802. From the Russian for little water.

Volstead Act, prop.n., the act of Congress that enforced the 18th amendment to the US Constitution that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Officially called the “National Prohibition Act,” it was sponsored by Andrew Volstead, a Republican representative from Minnesota, and passed in 1920. It was annulled by the 21st Amendment in 1933.

wet, adj., relating to alcohol, c.1700.

whiskey, whisky, n., an alcoholic beverage distilled from any of a variety of grains, from the Gaelic uisgebeatha, 1715. The American spelling is predominantly whiskey, with whisky being preferred in Britain.

white lightning, n., American slang term for illegally distilled whiskey, 1921. 

wine, n., fermented juice of grapes, from the Old English win, ultimately from the Latin vinum.

zinfandel, n., a variety of wine grapes used in California, 1880.

Book Review: Geoffrey Nunberg's Going Nucular

1 September 2004

This month we review a book that could have been included in last month’s “Summer Reading” review list (except I hadn’t finished reading it at that time).

It is Geoffrey Nunberg’s Going Nucular: Language, Politics, and Culture in Confrontational Times. Nunberg is a professor of linguistics at Stanford and the book is a collection of his radio commentaries on language that he gives regularly on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air.

Going Nucular comprises some sixty-five short essays on language and usage. The essays were all delivered on the radio during the period from 2001 through 2003 and many deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and how we altered our use of language to describe the attacks and their effects. (Nunberg includes the date the essay was delivered on the radio. This allows the reader to associate the topical subject with the appropriate period. One only wishes that other authors of compilations, like William Safire, would do the same.) Individual essay topics include the history of the word appeasement, use of the word Gallic and French bashing, the use of the language of courtly love in business writing, whether infidel is used appropriately to translate from the Arabic, and, of course, the pronunciation of nuclear.

But despite the backdrop of terrorism and war, the essays are hardly dark and foreboding. Nunberg’s essays witty and his humor a bit droll. He describes the Web, for instance, as “a tool that enables people who have a life to benefit from the efforts of those that don’t.” His essay on whether to call those resisting the US in Iraq as guerrillas, insurgents, or resistance is titled “We’ll Always Have Kirkuk.”

The title essay is what it hints to be, an examination of the pronunciation of nuclear, especially how several recent presidents have pronounced the word. Eisenhower pronounced it /nuc-u-lar /, probably on a model with molecular and particular. The word was a new one for Ike, learned in his middle age, and he probably looked to these other words for guidance on how to pronounce it. Other presidents have not had this excuse.

Jimmy Carter, a nuclear engineer by training, learned the word as a young man. He tended to pronounce it as / new-klee-uh /. This is more likely an artifact of his Georgia accent rather than mis-education.

Our last two presidents have pronounced it / nuc-u-lar /. (Clinton used both the / nuc-u-lar / and / new-clear / pronunciations about equally; Dubya limits himself to / nuc-u-lar /.) Both men are well educated and don’t have the excuse of not knowing how to pronounce it. Clinton went to Georgetown, Yale, and Oxford. Dubya to Andover, Yale, and Harvard, and his parents never used the / nuc-u-lar / pronunciation.

In the case of the latest two presidents, Nunberg suggests two hypotheses. The first is that it may be a “faux bubba” pronunciation used to make them seem more like good ol’ boys. Clinton has less reason to do this; he is legitimately from poor, Southern roots. Bush, while raised for significant portions of his childhood in Texas, was sent to elite Eastern prep schools at an early age and even while in Texas, as the son of a wealthy politician and oilman, would have had little contact with the “bubba” class.

The second is that they adopted this pronunciation to distinguish themselves from the military and national security professionals. By deliberately mispronouncing the term, the presidents were demystifying the power of nuclear weapons and asserting that they, the ones with their fingers on the nuclear button, could pronounce it any way they pleased.

Which, if either, is correct, is unknown. An important clue would be to see how Dubya pronounces the phrase nuclear family. Unfortunately, no one has caught him using this term.

If you are looking for profound or in-depth insights into the English language, however, you won’t find them here. While the essays are interesting and deftly written, they are too short and Nunberg, while a keen observer, usually doesn’t delve beyond the superficial. Still, the essays are a fun read and avoid the misinformation often found in essays about language.

Hardcover; PublicAffairs Publishers; May 2004; $18.95.

Prescriptivist's Corner: The Subjunctive Case

1 September 2004

The Prescriptivist’s Corner is back after a hiatus. This month, we are addressing one of the most misunderstood aspects of English grammar, the subjunctive mood. A mood is a form of a verb that affects the meaning of a sentence. English has three moods, the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive.

The indicative mood is the most common, used to express factual conditions, e.g., God helps us. The imperative is used for commands, e.g., Help us! And the subjunctive governs the hypothetical, wished, proposed, or demanded, e.g., God help us!

The subjunctive mood was common in English until about 1600, when it started falling out of use. It had all but disappeared when, around 1900, the subjunctive began staging a comeback. This comeback was first witnessed in American English, then in Britain and in other forms of English.

It is more often found in formal writing than in regular speech. In ordinary speech, with the exception of some idiomatic constructions, the indicative is usually used. Because of this, there is some question about the viability of the subjunctive’s resurgence. It could be a last hurrah before it fades into grammatical oblivion.

In English, with its lack of inflections, the subjunctive is chiefly seen by the dropping of the s in the third person singular present tense:

Tony wears concrete overshoes. (indicative)

Vinnie suggests that Tony wear concrete overshoes. (subjunctive)

And it is also formed by the use of be and were to replace am/is/are/was:

Vinnie’s consigliore is a fine strategist. (indicative)

Vinnie wishes his consigliore were a fine strategist. (subjunctive)

Other forms of the subjunctive include placing were or be at the head of a clause:

Were Vinnie to increase the payout, his numbers game would be more competitive with the state lottery.

In American English one also can form the subjunctive by placing not before be and following it up by a past participle:

Vinnie knew that Tony was a rat when he insisted that he not be followed to the meet.

The subjunctive is used in the following situations:

Counterfactual conditions. One uses the subjunctive when describing a condition that does not actually exist.

If it weren’t for an infusion of cash from his Vegas operation, Vinnie would have had trouble making his monthly payment to the Godfather.

Wishes. One uses the subjunctive to describe something one hopes to happen.

Vinnie wished that Tony the Rat leave the family feet first.

Demands and suggestions. One uses the subjunctive when describing requests, demands, and suggestions.

Vinnie insisted that the watches be real Rolexes and not knock-offs.

Statements of necessity. One uses the subjunctive to describe actions mandated by a particular situation.

The party going on next door made it necessary that Vinnie use the silencer.

Idiomatic expressions. Certain fossilized expressions are in the subjunctive:

• be that as it may

• so be it

• come what may

• far be it from me to

• so help me

• perish the thought

• powers that be

• serve you right

• suffice it to say

• woe betide

• as it were

Sometimes people use the subjunctive when there is no counterfactual or hypothetical condition:

Vinnie asked Tony if he were apprehensive about the meeting.

This is an example of hypercorrection and the indicative should be used instead:

Vinnie asked Tony if he was apprehensive about the meeting.

The concept of the subjunctive is not difficult to grasp and the grammatical forms are fairly simple. Using the subjunctive properly in formal contexts will lend a credibility and gravitas to your writing. But you may want to avoid it in ordinary speech as it can label you as a pedant.

Sprechen Sie Fraulein?

1 September 2004

The Langenscheidt publishing group, a leading German dictionary publisher, plans to publish a guide it says will help men translate the subtexts of female conversation. The guide is written by comedian Mario Barth, famous for his stage show Men are Pigs…but so are Women.

Langenscheidt, best known for its yellow foreign language dictionaries, will launch sales of a 128-page book to translate such baffling female banter as: “Let’s just cuddle” into “No sex tonight please!.”

“Each themed chapter offers men behavioral tips and exposes hidden messages transmitted by women in everyday situations, such as on holiday or during shopping trips,” said Silke Exius, chief editor at Langenscheidt.

Other examples in the German-Woman/Woman-German “dictionary” due out in October include explaining why a woman asks a man to take interest in the pair of shoes she may be trying on.

She wants him to look because he’s about to pay for them.

Word of the Month: Labor

1 September 2004

In the United States, the first Monday in September is Labor Day, a day to celebrate and reward the achievements of the American worker. The holiday was originally proposed by the labor movement in 1882. In 1884 the holiday was moved to the current place on the calendar and it received its first government recognition by municipal governments. In 1887, the state of Oregon became the first to declare it an official state holiday. By 1894, 24 states and the federal government had recognized the holiday.

In honor of the holiday, our word of the month is labor, n.; physical exertion that supplies the material needs of the community; the body of people who provide this work. The term is from the Old French and originally meant simply physical exertion, a sense that survives today. The first sense listed here dates to 1776 when it was first used by Adam Smith. The use referring to the collective body of workers dates to 1839.

What follows is a glossary of terms associated with the organized labor movement:

agency shop, n.; a place of employment where the union represents (is the “agency” for) all workers, whether or not they are members of the union. Non-members must still pay union dues or, sometimes, are allowed to contribute an equivalent amount to a charitable organization. 1952. Cf. union shop.

apprentice, n., adj., & v.; a worker who is learning a craft or trade, to work as an apprentice; 1362, from the Old French aprendre, to learn.

arbitration, n.; a method of resolving disputes where the parties submit the matter for decision to a neutral judge; 1634, from an earlier 14th C. sense meaning an capricious decision, ultimately from the Latin via Old French. Binding arbitration is similar, except the parties agree to abide by the decision before it is made.

at-will, adj.; employment terms where an employee has no contract and works at the pleasure (“will”) of the employer.

black-leg, n. & v.; British term for one who works for an employer currently being struck, a strike-breaker; to work as a strike-breaker; from an older sense of the word meaning a general term of opprobrium; 1865. Cf. scab.

blacklist, n. & v.; a list of workers known for union activities who are not to be hired by an employer or employers in an industry; 1888, from a 17th C. sense meaning a list of criminals or undesirable persons.

blue collar, adj.; denoting a laborer or the working class; 1950, from denim work shirts commonly worn on the job, Cf. white collar.

blue flu, n.; labor action by police or other government workers not permitted to strike where large numbers take sick leave at the same time; from the blue uniforms worn by police. Cf. sick out.

brotherhood, n.; a union, esp. a railway union; 1883.

boycott, v.; to refuse to engage in commercial transactions with a business, in the context of labor until that business unionizes or otherwise reforms its labor practices; 1880, after Charles Boycott, an English land agent in Ireland who was subjected to the treatment for refusing to lower rents.

bump, v.; trans., to take the job a less senior employee; intrans., to lose one’s job to a more senior employee. 1941.

closed shop, n.; a place of employment where only union members are employed; 1904. Cf. union shop, open shop.

collective bargaining, n.; means of negotiating an employment contract where a group of employees negotiates as a single entity and all receive the same terms of employment; 1891.

company store, n.; a store owned by the employer where employees are required to shop, usually at exorbitant prices; 1872.

company union, n.; a union that exists only within a single company, with no connections to workers at other firms; 1917.

company town, n.; a town owned by a company where employees are required to live, later used metaphorically to denote a town dominated by a single employer; 1933.

craft union, n.; a union where all members are engaged in the same type of job, e.g., the Teamsters; also horizontal union; c.1926

dead time, n.; time when a worker is not actually engaged in work because preparations for it are underway, e.g., while waiting for delivery of materials; 1909.

escalator clause, n.; an element in a contract that requires an increase (or decrease) in pay or other benefits when certain conditions are met, e.g., a cost-of-living increase.

featherbedding, n.; the employment of superfluous staff, usually required by a union contract, hence the use as a verb meaning to be paid without having to work; 1921, from the metaphor of a comfortable place.

free rider, n.; a worker who benefits from a union’s collective bargaining without joining the union; 1941.

fringe benefit, n.; a perquisite of employment that is granted by the employer in addition to wages, e.g., a restaurant worker who gets free or discounted meals; 1952.

general strike, n.; a strike by all workers in an industry or by workers in key industries across a nation; 1810.

guild, n.; a medieval association, often of tradesmen, formed to promote the interests of the group; before 1000, from a coalescing of several Germanic roots into a single Old English word; starting in 1827, the word was revived for the naming of modern organizations.

hiring hall, n.; a union-run placement center where employers would register jobs which would be assigned to members by the union by either rotation or seniority.

hot cargo, n.; goods produced by a plant that is under a strike or by an employer that refuses to hire union members; some union contracts permit union members to refuse to handle such cargo.

hot goods, n.; goods produced in violation of labor laws.

independent union, n.; a union that is not affiliated with a national organization and not organized by the employer.

industrial union, n.; an organization of all the workers in a particular industry, regardless of their craft, e.g., the United Auto Workers; 1923; also vertical union.

informational picketing, n.; picketing to draw attention to a labor dispute without going on strike.

job action, n.; activities undertaken by workers as part of a labor dispute, can include work slowdowns and strikes.

journeyman, n.; a skilled tradesman who works as an employee of another; 1463, from the itinerant nature of such work.

local union, n.; a chapter of a national union.

lockout, v. & n.; to shut down a plant in response to a strike; 1868.

master, n.; a skilled tradesman who employs apprentices and journeymen; Old English, from the Latin magister.

mediation, n.; intercession by a third party to resolve a dispute; before 1387, from the Anglo Norman mediacion.

minimum wage, n.; the lowest wage that can be legally paid to an employee.

open shop, n.; a business where employment is not conditioned on union status. Cf. closed shop.

outlaw strike, n.; a work stoppage that violates a collective bargaining agreement that is currently in force.

picket, n. & v.; a group of striking employees who patrol the premises of a business to deter others from working or doing business there, to act as a picket; 1867 in the labor sense, from the military sense of a sentry, ultimately from the French picquet, a pointed stake used to mark a boundary or form a fence.

pork chopper, n.; an employee of the union, from the sense that they are well fed by the dues of the rank and file members.

raid, v.; to attempt to enroll members already belonging to another union.

recognize, v.; to accept a union as the legitimate agent for collective bargaining.

right to work, adj.; term used to describe laws prohibiting the requirement to join a union as a condition of employment; 1958.

sabotage, n.; the malicious destruction of an employer’s property as part of a job action; 1910, from the French sabot, a metal shoe used to hold railroad tracks in place, uprooted during railway strikes.

scab, n.; derogatory term for a worker who takes the place of a striking worker; 1777 in the labor sense, in use as a general term of abuse since c.1590, metaphorical use from the sense of a pustule or crust over a wound. Cf. black-leg.

secondary, adj.; used to denote action against a third party used to bring pressure in a labor dispute, e.g., a secondary boycott might target a firm’s customers, a secondary strike a firm’s suppliers.

shop steward, n.; union member in a shop or department elected to handle union matters and act as spokesman for that group; 1904. Steward is from an Old English term for an official who manages the affairs of a manor or household.

sick out, n.; job action where employees feign illness and do not report for work; 1970; formed from an analogy with walk out.

sit-down, adj.; used to describe strikes or protests where the strikers or protesters occupy the premises; 1936.

solidarity, n.; unity of interests and aspirations, esp. of trade unions; from the French solidarité, 1841. Also recently used to translate the name of the anti-communist Polish trade union movement founded in 1980.

strike, v. & n.; to cease working in protest of pay or working conditions; 1768, originally a reference to sailors striking, or lowering, the yards on ships to prevent them from putting to sea.

sweatshop, n., place of employment that demands long hours and provides low pay; 1895

sweetheart contract, n.; derogatory term for an agreement that grants concessions to the employer or benefits to the union at the expense of the rank-and-file members; 1959.

sympathetic strike, n.; a work stoppage by employees at one firm or plant done in support of a work stoppage at another.

union, n.; an association of workers that promotes the general welfare of all members; 1833.

union shop, n.; a place of employment that requires union membership as a condition of employment; 1904.

whipsaw, v.; to engage is a series of surprise work stoppages against an industry, striking at one employer after another.

white collar, adj.; denoting non-manual labor; 1919, from the collars of shirts worn by clerical workers. Cf. blue collar.

wildcat strike, n.; a work stoppage that is not sanctioned by the union; 1937, from a 19th C. sense of wildcat meaning a rash or risky venture.

work to rule, v.; to scrupulously observe the terms of one’s contract and nothing more as a form of job action; 1950.

yellow dog, adj.; opposed to trade unions, e.g., a yellow-dog contract prohibits workers from joining a union; 1904.