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Here's Part Six of Interesting Etymologies (word origins)!
In a land far, far away, a superhero named LEARNHUB LUCY is lost in the forest,
disoriented and alone. She has lost her magical
kaleidoscope (a word that means "beautiful" -
kalos, "looked at" - eidos, and "shape" -
scopeo in Greek).
She knows who has her beloved kaleidoscope…but first, she must
find a way to escape the forest!
It turns out she is in a forest in Sabina, Italy - a small town
called Cantalupo. LEARNHUB LUCY
recognizes this place.
So using her supernatural abilities, LEARNHUB
LUCY flies away from the forest, searching for
canteloupe. Unfortunately, she becomes very
tired. She knows what she must do.
Little did she know that "cab" was a short-form for
cabriolet, a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage
that transported people in the olden days. But when she got to
her destination, she realized she couldn't afford the cab
fare.
In other words, she was stone-broke - she had no
money! Where'd the term "broke" come from? Well, banks in the
European Renaissance issued porcelain tiles as credit cards. If
the customer was past the credit limit and couldn't pay it, the
bank would "break" the porcelain tile. So LEARNHUB LUCY runs away from the cab driver, and
seeks the one person who could have her kaleidoscope. It is
George W. Bush.
"Why, hello LEARNHUB LUCY," Dubya
drawls.
"Hello, Mr. Bush. Do you have my kaleidoscope?"
"I sure do - but you have to do a favour for me first!"
"What is that?" LEARNHUB LUCY
asked.
"You gotta vote for me as the next American Idol!"
LEARNHUB LUCY pondered this for a
moment. She really loved her kaleidoscope, but was voting for
George W. Bush worth it?
She decided yes. George was ecstatic about this decision, so he
proposed a toast to Lucy.
So she voted for George Bush as America's singing sensation by
casting a ballot for him. Ballot is the Italian
term for "small ball or pebble." Italian citizens once voted by
casting a small pebble or ball into a box.
Mission Accomplished!
Little did George know that "Cheers" came from
the Greek word "Kara", meaning face. His
toast was not the first - it referred to a 17th
century custom of flavouring drinks with spiced toast!
And off LEARNHUB LUCY goes,
with her kaleidoscope safely returned - and on another adventure
yet to be determined…
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