Hola Family & Friends
I hope everyone has had an awesome day. Yes, the word “awesome” was actually invented in the 80’s. It usually preceded the word, “dude.”
Speaking of words and their roots, here’s what Sallie P dug up about the word “nifty.” She said, according to the OED, the word nifty was a shortened version of the word “Magnificat.” I thought, magnificent, but she confirmed that it was indeed Magnificat. Sallie continued to say that the 1st documented use of the word came from Bret Harte in the Californian newspaper on 6/3/1865. She went on to say that “snug as a bug in a rug” dates back to 1769, “appearing in one of the productions at the Stratford Jubilee.” The original ORIGINAL phrase dates back to E. Ward in 1707, which started out as “Snug as a bee in a box.”
Wow, don’t mess with a retired reference librarian, right Sallie?
I sure didn’t know what a “Magnificat” meant, so I googled that myself. According to the Wiki, “it is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos.”
So there you have it. Sallie and I were both a little confused over why Harte chose to shorten Magnificat, as opposed to magnificent, but she double checked the data.
Thanks again, Sallie. Where were you on my history exams? 😃
Tonight’s Essential Cartoon hopefully brings a smile to our collective Californian unanswered question–What’s Next?
I wish everyone a restful rest of your evening.
Until tomorrow. . .
Enjoy!
Ian S.
Salinas!
P.S.
“No rulers were harmed during the making of this cartoon.”
“Let’s still be careful out there.”