A Word A Day... Quotes and Other stuff...

brass tacks




MEANING:

noun: Practical details; essentials; realities.



ETYMOLOGY:

The term is typically used in the phrase “to get down to brass tacks”. There are many conjectures about the origins of the term,
but it’s not confirmed why we say brass tacks, instead of, say iron tacks, or for that matter iron nails. Earliest documented use: 1863.



USAGE:

“It is one thing to enthuse, but can be quite another to get down to brass tacks.”

Barry Davis; The Flow of Love; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Feb 8, 2019.

ironclad


MEANING:

adjective:

1. Covered with iron.

2. Inflexible, unbreakable, or indisputable.



ETYMOLOGY:

From iron, from Old English iren + clad (clothed), from Old English clathod. Earliest documented use: 1752.



USAGE:

“In medieval England peasants were permitted to graze their sheep on the lands of the nobility.
There were no restrictions on how much their livestock could feed, but there was one ironclad rule:
the peasants were not allowed to collect their animals’ droppings.”

Agrichemicals; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 18, 2017.



See more usage examples of ironclad in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

swashbuckle


MEANING:

verb intr.: To swagger, bluster, behave recklessly, etc.



ETYMOLOGY:

Back-formation from swashbuckler (one who makes a noise by striking a sword on a shield), from swash (of imitative origin)
+ buckler (a small round shield), from boucle (a boss on a shield), from Latin buccula, diminutive of bucca (cheek).
Earliest documented use: 1897. Swashbuckler is from 1560.



USAGE:

“Ever since DNA was first used in 1986 to catch a killer, it’s swashbuckled its way through society as an almost infallible weapon of truth:
convicting the guilty, freeing the innocent, revealing bloodlines, paternity, and identity.”

Carolyn Abraham; Unravelling the Canadian Gene Machine; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Feb 3, 2018.

zig


MEANING:

noun: A sharp turn or angle in a zigzag course.

verb intr.: To make a sharp turn.



ETYMOLOGY:

Back-formation from zigzag, from French zigzag, from ziczac, from German Zickzack (zigzag), perhaps a reduplication of Zacke (peak, tooth, or nail).
Earliest documented use: 1894. Zigzag is from 1712.



USAGE:

“The state senator ... zigged to the right in order to appeal to primary voters, pledging to abolish the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Ben Jacobs; Sarah Palin’s Hog Castrating Clone May Cost GOP Iowa’s Senate Seat if She Wins Primary; The Daily Beast (New York); Jun 3, 2014.

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg



What’s common between a shirt and shorts? They make for an appropriate summer attire. Both are one-syllable words and sound similar, but there’s more to it. Both share the same root. The word shirt came to us from Old English scyrte and short(s) from Old English sceort, but both are ultimately from the same Indo-European root sker- (to cut).*



So far so good. Let’s make things a little more interesting. The word skirt also came from the same root, but it came to us via Old Norse skyrta where it meant a shirt.



If you thought the change in fashion was fickle, you should meet etymology.



A lot can happen as a word travels in time and distance. It can change as it makes a jump from one language to another and from one time period to another (more examples: 1, 2, 3).



This may be a good time to make a public service announcement. Do not insist that a word should mean today what it meant originally. What a word means today is what it really means. Pronunciation, meaning, or spelling can change, and often do, over time.



Embrace change. Live in the present. Not past or future.



Who knew etymology could lead to zen?



Enough enlightenment for today. Let’s get back to the mundane. This week we share five words that originate in shirts and pants.



*How did we get the words skirt and shirt (and shorts) from the Indo-European root sker (to cut)? Who knows! Perhaps it refers to a cut piece used to make such a piece of clothing. Or maybe both are short pieces of clothing, compared to a long robe more common in the past or perhaps cut from such a dress.


redshirt

PRONUNCIATION:

(RED-shuhrt)



MEANING:

noun: A college athlete who practices with the team, but does not take part in official games.

verb tr., intr.: 1. To extend eligibility by a year by making an athlete practice, but not participate, in official games.

2. To delay enrolling a child by a year to avoid their being one of the youngest in the class.



ETYMOLOGY:

From the red jersey typically worn by such an athlete. Earliest documented use: 1950.



NOTES:

Why hold back an athlete in college? It may be to help the student develop and mature so that they can play their eligible full four years successfully. In such cases, the student finishes college in five years, instead of four. It may also be done if an athlete is injured. Should you delay enrolling your little one in kindergarten just so they are not the youngest? Experts say not. See here.



USAGE:

“‘Nothing new.’ John shrugged. ‘School’s going well, football, too.’

‘He’s a redshirt this year, isn’t he?’

‘He is. It’ll give him an extra year of eligibility.’”

Karen Kingsbury; A Time to Embrace; Thomas Nelson; 2010.



“My own son was born in August, so he is a prime candidate for redshirting. ... We’re not going to be holding him back, though.”

Leah McLaren; Holding Children Back Is Not the Right Start; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Sep 11, 2015.