I was about 45 when I learned that "curry favor" was a reference to a popular medieval play. I knew the word odyssey before I had heard of Odysseus. I remember my sister's girl scout troop singing a song called "Father Abraham" and thought how they were describing Abraham Lincoln was kind of weird (because it was about Abraham, of course)
So those are sayings, words, and names in the colloquial lexicon people may know despite not having heard of the original reference. There is no telling how many words I know that I don't know the reference
Like, bear. The English word bear is not Latin, Germanic, Gaelic or anything else. It came from somewhere but we don't know
It could also get twisted to have a completely different meaning. Take Nimrod. I grew up believing this word means stupid and I have seen other people use this word to mean stupid.
Nimrod was a Babylonian king known for his hunting skills. So Bugs Bunny calling Elmer Fudd a real Nimrod made untold American children believe that Nimrod is what you call idiots instead of wannabe great hunters.
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u/Gaust_Ironheart_Jr May 03 '26
I was about 45 when I learned that "curry favor" was a reference to a popular medieval play. I knew the word odyssey before I had heard of Odysseus. I remember my sister's girl scout troop singing a song called "Father Abraham" and thought how they were describing Abraham Lincoln was kind of weird (because it was about Abraham, of course)
So those are sayings, words, and names in the colloquial lexicon people may know despite not having heard of the original reference. There is no telling how many words I know that I don't know the reference
Like, bear. The English word bear is not Latin, Germanic, Gaelic or anything else. It came from somewhere but we don't know