Feckless

"Feckless" is a word that is not used very much. Most people do not know it. Today, you will learn it. You will learn it in a way that will make it easy to remember. Most likely, you will never again have trouble with it.

And we will accomplish all of that in a few short sentences. Here we go.

"Feckless" is a Scottish word that comes from the English word "effect." In the same way that "careless" means without care, "feckless" means without effect.

Other synonyms for feckless are: weak, ineffective, worthless.

Okay, you have learned a new word, and you have learned it well by employing a simple trick. You learned the origin of the word. Once you knew that "feckless" came from "effect," there was no trouble.

Keep that in mind when you study your words. A simple trick can often lighten the load.

On the fritz

Nobody knows for sure where we got the phrase "on the fritz." It appeared as early as 1902. It has always been a phrase that is applied to something that has stopped working. For example, my TV is on the fritz; my stove is on the fritz; my brain is on the fritz.

There are two camps as to its origin. One camp says that the term refers to all things German. As their proof, they say that the Germans were known derogatorily as "Fritz" during both world wars. In their line of thinking, "on the fritz" is a derisive term for something that is poorly run, manufactured, or maintained.

The opposing camp doesn't know where the term started, but they point out that the term was in use long before World War I. In their view, the term predates the wars, and therefore, it could not have come from our disdain for the Germans.

I have no proof, but I side with the first camp. I figure that if we were calling the Germans "Fritz" in World War I, then we were probably calling them "Fritz" even before the war started.

That's just my opinion.

Katy, Bar the Door

This is another expression for which there is no known origin. Usually, when there is no definitive explanation, there are plenty of opposing camps with alternating theories.

Not this time.

The earliest known reference to the term is 1902.

But it is undoubtedly much older than that. It may have found its beginnings as early as 1700, although that date is probably early by at least 50 years.

In any event, no one knows where it came from, but the meaning is clear: Act now or bad things will happen.





The expression Katy, bar the door means to watch out or serves as a warning of impending disaster. It dates to at least 1902 when it appears in Hugh McHugh’s (George V. Hobart’s) It’s Up to You:
It was “Katie, bar the door” with her.
But who was Katy (or Katie) and why was she locking the door? Read the rest of the article...

Catch-22

Catch-22 is a term that comes from a situation presented in Joseph Heller's book of the same name. As Heller's character explains it, Catch-22 describes an unwinnable situation. A pilot would be crazy to fly dangerous bombing missions, and therefore, could be grounded on reasons of insanity, if the pilot would request to be grounded. But here comes the catch. If a pilot is sane enough to request to be grounded because he would be crazy to fly more missions, then he is sane because he wants to avoid deadly situations. And if he is sane enough to do that, then he is sane enough to fly more missions

So a Catch-22 was a damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't situation.

Nowadays a catch-22 is any situation in which you cannot win by choosing any course of action. For instance, you can get a raise if you help reduce the expenses, but if you help to reduce the expenses, then your job will be cut.

Ouch.

The Bikini, Nuclear Destruction, and the End of the World

On July 1, 1946, the United States conducted nuclear weapons tests at the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall islands. It was to be the first of many many tests over the next 12 years.

Fashion designer Jacques Heim named his new two-piece swimsuit after the Bikini Atoll. In truth, Heim was just trying to piggyback on the publicity generated by the American atomic tests. It worked.

The bikini became famous.

Mr. Heim was not the inventor of the bikini. It was a common style of bathing suit for years. Mr. Heim was merely the guy who gave it a name.

He succeeded.

Etymologist vs. entomologist

Which word means the study of word origins: etymology or entomology? The other word means the study of insects, but that is no help. You either know both words, or you probably know neither.

The old joke goes like this:
QUESTION: What is the difference between an etymologist and an entomologist.
ANSWER: Only an etymologist knows that answer.

It's funny (sort of) because an etymologist studies words; an entomologist studies insects; and the rest of us don't know nuttin 'bout neither.

Ha-ha.

Tinhorn vs. Greenhorn

I thought that this might be a fresh topic, but my research shows that other sites (some quite famous) also explore today's two words: tinhorn and greenhorn. The stories are always the same, and I won't be bucking the trend today.

Greenhorn -- This is the easy one. The term was originally applied to young adult animals with new or "green" horns. Today, the term is applied to an inexperienced person or one that does not know the local customs, laws, etc. If the term "newbie" fits, then so does "greenhorn." Date this word to 1682.

Tinhorn -- Although I could find just one explanation for the origin of this term, it wasn't a very easy one to track down. For instance, Merriam Webster has the definition but is silent on the origin. But since I can find no competing theories for how this term came about, I will side with the majority.

"Tinhorn" refers to a gambler who tries to cheat you. Gamblers needed only a deck of cards to work their magic, but if they could scrape together a few bucks, they could branch out into other games. The chuck-a-luck is a good choice. It is easy to make. It is portable (sometimes in the old West, you had to get out of town by sundown). It can be rigged to cheat.

You have probably seen a chuck-a-luck. They have them at every charity casino night. A chuck-a-luck is shaped a lot like an egg timer or hour glass, but it uses wire instead of glass, and it has three dice. There is usually a handle on the side. After the bets are put down, the operator turns the chuck-a-luck round a few times, the dice go flying, and when it stops, hopefully, somebody wins.

The ends of the chuck-a-luck were made of leather (good ones) or tin (cheap ones). None of the sites that I visited said that if the chuck-a-luck used leather, then the gambler was known as a leatherhorn, but every one of them said that if it was made with cheap tin, then the gambler was known as a tinhorn.

So today, a cheap gambler who is likely to cheat you is known as a tinhorn gambler.

I told you that "tinhorn" wasn't so easy. Whew!!

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