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#97222 - 02/28/03 08:33 AM bistro
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 10/17/00
Posts: 5400
Loc: rego park
became popular in France after the napolionic wars.
(i would be glad to hear more...or be corrected if my source is wrong.)_________________________
my other obsession
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#97223 - 03/01/03 01:25 AM
enthusiast
Registered: 03/16/00
Posts: 315
Loc: Italy - Perugia is a town with...
"Our rub today is the French bistro, or bistrot ---- both are correct, with bistro first appearing in 1884, followed by bistrot in 1892. The origin of the word is uncertain, but the most popular and romantic hypothesis is that it came from the Russian bystro (meaning quickly), introduced by Cossacks during the 1814 occupation of Paris as they shouted for faster service in cafes.
However, this picturesque interpretation is discounted by most lexicographers. They say that the word bistro probably came from Parisian argot meaning "proprietor of a tavern." Another less dreamy version is that bistro comes from the root bistre, meaning a somber and smokey place. "
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#97224 - 02/08/04 11:41 AM
old hand
Registered: 01/12/01
Posts: 771
Loc: Portland, Oregon
It may be apocryphal, but I remember hearing something about the practice of tipping originating in Colonial coffee- and chocolate-houses, where a box was mounted on the wall with a sign reading To Insure Promptness. Then the verbing of an acronym, blah blah blah, and here we are. Anyone confirm this?
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#97225 - 02/09/04 08:38 AM
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 12517
http://www.wordorigins.org/wordort.htm#tip
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#97226 - 02/09/04 08:44 AM
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 06/24/02
Posts: 6685
Loc: Vermont
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#97227 - 02/09/04 08:04 PM
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 08/27/02
Posts: 2062
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
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#97228 - 02/09/04 08:19 PM
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 06/24/02
Posts: 6685
Loc: Vermont
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#97229 - 02/09/04 09:00 PM
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 01/18/01
Posts: 13858
the Internet. I looked in a dozen different places, and none
of them had a clear statement about the pronunciation.
Tow is flax that has been retted and prepared for
spinning. It is the color of very blonde hair. And it is
pronounced like a digit on a foot, toe.
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#97230 - 02/10/04 05:27 AM
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 06/24/02
Posts: 6685
Loc: Vermont
M-W got me this:
Main Entry: 3 tow
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tow- spinning; akin to Old Norse tO tuft of wool for spinning, Old English tawian to prepare for use -- more at TAW
1 : short or broken fiber (as of flax, hemp, or synthetic material) that is used especially for yarn, twine, or stuffing
2 a : yarn or cloth made of tow b : a loose essentially untwisted strand of synthetic fibers
the pronunciation of "tow sack" was as "toe", so I'm assuming it's the same.
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#97231 - 02/13/04 09:51 PM
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 01/05/01
Posts: 1763
Good luck with that.
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