A Little Lightness
This was first published March 11, 2007. "Word History" added December 1, 2014.
I've always wondered about those "deer crossing" signs along the roads. How do the deer know where to cross? Do they have crossing guards with antlers? If they come out in front of you, do you give them the horn, or do they give you the horns?
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You have to know something about previous foreign leaders to get the point of this one...
When former Soviet leader Leonid Breshnev died, his punishment for having led a less than exemplary life was to walk arm-in-arm through eternity with Golda Meir. (Not known for her good looks.) One day as they walked along, he looked over and saw former German Communist leader Walther Olbricht walking arm-in-arm with Gina Lolabrigitta. Breshnev called across the street to Olbricht, "Hey, Comrade Olbricht, what kind of punishment is this for you; you and Gina Lolabrigitta together?" Olbricht replied, "It's not MY punishment, it's hers."
WORD HISTORY:
Antler-The origin of this word, meaning "annually grown and shed branch-like set of horns on the heads of deer and some related species," is uncertain, but it is "perhaps" an Old French invention, with the first part of the word likely derived from Latin "ante," which meant "before, in front of," from Indo European "hanti," which had the notion "opposite, before, in front of, against." This Indo European term also gave Old Germanic "andi," which then gave English the prefix "and-," the original first part of the contracted word "along," which was spelled "andlong" (its German cousin is still spelled similarly, "entlang"). Anyway, Old French had "antoillier" (horn, antler), which then was borrowed by English in the latter part of the 1300s as "auntelere," before the modern version. Prior to borrowing "antler," English used the older form of the word "horn(s)." Modern "horn(s)" is still used by some as a synonym, but horns are generally considered to be permanent, as opposed to antlers being grown and shed annually. The other Germanic languages use forms of horn, while some also have others words for "antler-like horns."
I've always wondered about those "deer crossing" signs along the roads. How do the deer know where to cross? Do they have crossing guards with antlers? If they come out in front of you, do you give them the horn, or do they give you the horns?
*********************************************************************************
You have to know something about previous foreign leaders to get the point of this one...
When former Soviet leader Leonid Breshnev died, his punishment for having led a less than exemplary life was to walk arm-in-arm through eternity with Golda Meir. (Not known for her good looks.) One day as they walked along, he looked over and saw former German Communist leader Walther Olbricht walking arm-in-arm with Gina Lolabrigitta. Breshnev called across the street to Olbricht, "Hey, Comrade Olbricht, what kind of punishment is this for you; you and Gina Lolabrigitta together?" Olbricht replied, "It's not MY punishment, it's hers."
WORD HISTORY:
Antler-The origin of this word, meaning "annually grown and shed branch-like set of horns on the heads of deer and some related species," is uncertain, but it is "perhaps" an Old French invention, with the first part of the word likely derived from Latin "ante," which meant "before, in front of," from Indo European "hanti," which had the notion "opposite, before, in front of, against." This Indo European term also gave Old Germanic "andi," which then gave English the prefix "and-," the original first part of the contracted word "along," which was spelled "andlong" (its German cousin is still spelled similarly, "entlang"). Anyway, Old French had "antoillier" (horn, antler), which then was borrowed by English in the latter part of the 1300s as "auntelere," before the modern version. Prior to borrowing "antler," English used the older form of the word "horn(s)." Modern "horn(s)" is still used by some as a synonym, but horns are generally considered to be permanent, as opposed to antlers being grown and shed annually. The other Germanic languages use forms of horn, while some also have others words for "antler-like horns."
posted by Randy at 6:13 AM
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