Sawbuck

The distinctive X-shape of a sawbuck

An early-twentieth century term for a ten dollar bill.  It comes up in noir novels as I found it in both David Fears’s Dark Blonde and Megan Abbott’s Queenpin.  The name comes from the X-shape formed by the crossed wood on a sawhorse, X being the roman numeral for ten.

 

Queen City

The Queen City at night

Came across a passage referring to Cincinnati as the Queen City and wondered the origins of it.  After a little bit of research, I discovered there are hundreds of queen cities throughout the world.  The title seems to be given to any city which is second best at something.  Buffalo, for example, is the Queen City of the Great Lakes for being the second largest city on the lakes, next to Chicago.  The town is also the Queen City of New York, as the second largest city, next to New York.

Cincinnati’s use of the title is less clear, but it is clear that it is not because it was second fiddle.  The name goes back at least until 1819, well before the founding of Chicago – the city that will eclipse it in the midwest.  In Cincinnati’s case, queen must be a reference to its beauty, not any status as a runner-up.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow immortalized the name in his poem “Catawba Wine” which reads:

“And this Song of the Vine,
This greeting of mine,
The winds and the birds shall deliver,
To the Queen of the West,
In her garlands dressed,
On the banks of the Beautiful River.”

Teddy Roosevelt: speak softly, but make up the words as you go along

To a great man with great diction. I was sad to see Bullfeathers didn’t make the list, but I guess he didn’t coin the phrase.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/48811/11-words-and-phrases-popularized-teddy-roosevelt

90 Day Wonder

The original logo of Officer Candidate School

90 Day Wonder is a pejorative  term for a military officer who earned his position through Officer Candidate School.  The program was designed during World War II as a means of expanding the  numbers of officiers primarily during wartime.  Unlike members who go to West Point or other Officer academies, these men would become officers after only a short time (at one point as short as three-months, hence the name).  The term has since also become a term of affection.

Another new phrase from David Fears’s Dark Blonde, a book that expanded my vocabulary more than I ever expected.

Peignoir

Peignoir

A long, sheer woman’s outer garment of interesting word origin.  The word comes from the French verb “to comb the hair,” as it was originally used to describe a dressing gown that a woman would wear while brushing out one’s hair in the morning or evening.  Another new word from David Fears’s novella Dark Blonde.

Centripetal or centrifugal

While drive on the Saw Mill the other day and taking a turn a little too fast, I found myself thinking “am I fighting centripetal or centrifugal force? I can never remember.  Sort of like stalactites and stalagmites…”

Latin to the rescue! Centripetal from centrum petere “to seek the center.”  Centrifugal from centrum fugere “to flee the center.”

Good to know which force of nature is pulling you to your doom.

Cacotopia

An older sister for the word dystopia.

My wife came across the word when reading John Stuart Mill.  According to the O.E.D., John Stuart Mill first used dystopia in 1868 when speaking before the House of Commons he denounced the the government’s Irish land policy as “dys-topians or caco-topians.”  Cacotopia actually predated that its more popular synonym by several decades, having been coined by Jeremy Bentham