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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273 |
To languagehat, who managed to track this one down for me: In reply to:
Used orally from the 1970s but the first written citation we have is 1988. It could have originated from a corrupted form of pakaru (Maori) meaning broken or ruined.
Dianne B
Dr Dianne Bardsley Manager/Lexicographer New Zealand Dictionary Centre Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600 Wellington NZ
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
The word Fiasko is used in German in the same sense as in English, and though the connection with the Italian bottle is generally recognised, there is no real consensus about how the word acquired its present meaning.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
Vernon, I assume you are replying as to huckery, not fiasco?
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273 |
Yep. sjmaxq asked me to try to find something out about it. Somebody here recommended languagehat, and it worked.
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