Words

As we drove down the road on our way to find some geocaches and take the dog for his walk, a beautifully kept up low-slung deep blue jalopy passed by going in the opposite direction. I wondered out loud where the word jalopy comes from. Out came the phone, and David informed me that it first appeared in print in 1924. "It is possible," Wikipedia says, "that the longshoremen in New Orleans referred to the scrapped autos destined for scrapyards in Jalapa, Mexico, according to this destination, in which they of course also pronounced the letter J as in English." It also told us that what I had seen wasn't a jalopy—which is a "battered old automobile"—so now I'm on the hunt for the proper term for that well cared for relic. It looked very much like this:

And I found that photo in a publication called The Jalopy Journal. So there! But on skimming said journal, I see other photos of similar cars, and they're referred to as hot rods. So there's that too. Wikipedia again: "Hot rods are typically old, classic, or modern American cars that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines modified for more speed and acceleration. One definition is: 'a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made to go much faster.' However, there is no definition of the term that is universally accepted and the term is attached to a wide range of vehicles."

Anyway, this got me wondering about other words whose etymology is unclear. Many of them are surprisingly common words. To wit:

dog
bad
big
girl
boy
donkey
bird
surf
fuss
blight
log
tantrum
toad
curse
kick

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Covid-19 cases continue to rise nationwide. Today's stats for Monterey County: 14,791 confirmed cases, 797 hospitalizations, 121 deaths—up, respectively, 422, 6, and 5 since Thursday. 

Stay safe. Wear a mask.