The Unexpected Evolution of Language (13 page)

As was so aptly said in
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

fanatic

ORIGINAL DEFINITION:
possessed by a deity

NEW DEFINITION:
someone who is overzealous or overenthusiastic

The Latin word that gave the English language “fanatic” once simply meant “temple.” Just like today, there were people in ancient Rome who went to church every time the doors were open. Thus, over time, the Latin word began to refer to pious people.

Sometimes, these really pious people were so inspired by their faith that they didn’t wash regularly or they mumbled to themselves or they jerked about spasmodically. In short, they acted as if they were possessed. Thus, the last meaning of the Latin root was “one who acts possessed by a deity.”

When the word entered English, during the sixteenth century, “fanatic” still specifically focused on religious people who were maybe possessed by a little
too
much religion. By the seventeenth century, “fanatic” broadened to include anyone who acted “possessed” by an interest in anything. While no longer believed possessed literally, these present-day “fanatics” love their sports team, television show, or favorite musician to a more-than-is-healthy extent.

farce

ORIGINAL DEFINITION:
stuffing (food)

NEW DEFINITION:
program or play featuring broad comedy

What does the stuff you put in a turkey at Thanksgiving have to do with outrageous comedy? The answer can be found, of all places, inside the doors of the medieval Roman Catholic Church.

Until the 1400s, “farce” was a culinary term that meant stuffing. Thus, people enjoyed “farce-filled” guinea fowl (or whatever bird folks ate in medieval England).

At roughly the same time, many priests took liberties with the liturgical text. The liturgy during a Catholic Mass then, as now, was formulaic, but (also then, as now) at various portions during the Mass, a priest could interject his own message or information. He would offer it in the vernacular rather than in Latin. Thus, people began to call this nonliturgical, non-Latinate material “farce” because it was like the “stuffing” in the Mass.

This sense of “farce” was borrowed when churches put on mystery plays. This early form of theater depicted miracles (mysteries) from the Bible. Often, actors would engage in comic relief in the middle of these plays. Again, this buffoonery (see entry for “buffoon”) was like the “stuffing” within the mystery play. Eventually, these comic interludes became so popular that they “spun off” into a genre of their own, which still exists today to the delight of immature men everywhere.

Farce and Slapstick

Americans tend to associate the word “farce” with the word “slapstick.” Slapstick’s golden age (which sounds like an oxymoronic concept) included Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, W. C. Fields, and (of course) The Three Stooges. Nowadays, the comedies of Judd Apatow and Tyler Perry keep the slapstick tradition alive. But where does the word “slapstick” come from?

Italian theater produced “commedia dell’arte” in the sixteenth century. This early form of comedy used clowns (see entry for “clown”) to ape the mannerisms of typical stereotypes of the day: stuffed shirts, cowardly military leaders, etc.

One prop used during these early farces was the “bataccio,” translated into English as “slapstick.” The “bataccio” made a lot of noise when one hit someone with it, though it actually caused no harm. Nonetheless, the reaction of a character hit with a “bataccio” and the loud sound it made combined to make audiences roar with laughter. Thus, “slapstick” became broad physical humor.

filibuster

ORIGINAL DEFINITION:
pirate

NEW DEFINITION:
delaying tactic often used in the Senate

You’ve probably heard the word “freebooter,” which is a synonym for “pirate.” A pirate gets free booty (the type that means loot, not the type associated with physical companionship) because he steals it. Another common term of old was “filibuster.” Both “freebooter” and “filibuster” came from the same Danish word, “vrijbuiter.” “Freebooter” became one English variation. Another, via French and Spanish, entered English as “filibuster.” So, at first, a “filibuster” was a pirate.

The word first gained an American connection in the mid-nineteenth century. “Filibuster” was the name given to U.S. citizens who organized ersatz militias and attempted to gain possession of Latin American countries.

Thus, “filibuster” began to mean anyone who used belligerent means for his or her own gain. At the same time the word was used to describe would-be despots, some wags began to use the term to describe the time-honored delaying tactic used on the floor of the Senate. After all, senators who used speeches as delaying tactics to try and influence votes were “pirating” the legislative decision.

flippant

ORIGINAL DEFINITION:
talkative

NEW DEFINITION:
displaying inappropriate levity; an inability to recognize the gravity of a situation

At the turn of the seventeenth century, someone “flippant” was someone who wouldn’t shut up. The word lost its original meaning for metaphorical reasons. Someone who likes to hear the sound of his own voice isn’t really paying serious attention to yours. Thus, “flippant” started to describe the actions of someone making a wiseass joke whenever you start getting serious. Nowadays, a flippant person is one who makes jokes when, say, you’re trying to get advice about how to solve a difficult problem: “Hey, Bob, my wife and I argue all the time.” Bob replies, “Just kill her.”

flirt

ORIGINAL DEFINITION:
to treat with contempt; sneer or jeer at; one who does these things

NEW DEFINITION:
to engage in playful courtship; one who engages in playful courtship

In Shakespeare’s day, “flirt” was associated with saucy, impertinent women. Singles bars didn’t exist 500 years ago, but if they had, a young man being “flirted with” by a comely wench would have known he’d go home alone. Why? To be “flirted” with was to be
insulted
by a woman we likely would call independent and discerning today.

Over time, however, “flirting” became something positive. This is due to the fact that flirting often takes the form of playful insults. After all, a cliché that has created a zillion romantic comedies dictates that men and women who treat one another with contempt are in fact completely in gooey, syrupy love with one another.

G

garbage

ORIGINAL DEFINITION:
parts of an animal not eaten

NEW DEFINITION:
disposable material

Now that we have entire ersatz nations made out of garbage, swirling about in the world’s oceans and killing aquatic life, it’s easy to forget that the world was not always infiltrated by tossed disposable goods.

Consider medieval times. People didn’t have paper towels, disposable diapers, entertainment magazines, or those damnable plastic shopping bags that everyone knows we should eschew in favor of reusable bags. It’s just that, dammit, it’s so easy to forget to bring them in to the grocery store!

Anyway, for the early part of its life in English, “garbage” referred mostly to parts of an animal that couldn’t be used for another purpose. There wasn’t a whole lot of other “trash.” But all those animal parts? You couldn’t eat them, wear them, or use them to construct things. In short, they were useless and disposable.

The connection, therefore, already existed between “garbage” and “worthless stuff.” That meaning was bolstered when people got “garbage” and “garble” mixed-up (see entry for “garble”). “Garble” meant to sift through spices in order to filter out impurities. By the 1600s, “garbage” referred to any pile of useless stuff that, even then, began to clog up the planet.

garble

ORIGINAL DEFINITION:
to sift

NEW DEFINITION:
to confuse stories or words so much that meaning is confused or lost

At one time, the word “garble” referred specifically to spices. A spice trader would stop at a Mediterranean port and purchase a barrel of some spice. In order to make sure he wasn’t being cheated, the spice trader would sift through the spice merchant’s wares and make sure they weren’t filled with impurities or fillers.

If the merchant was dishonest, sifting spices would create piles of various unrelated parts. Sifting
language
can have the same metaphoric result.

Think of the game “telephone.” One person whispers something into someone’s ear, who whispers it into the ear of her neighbor, who whispers it to the next person. Eventually, the information makes its way around the room, but often in a dramatically altered state.

Why does the meaning get lost? Well, people can only remember so much information at a time. They choose the bits they think are most important before they send the message on. Thus, by “sifting” through the information, they “garble” it.

Garbled Lyrics

People have garbled the lyrics of even the most popular songs, and sometimes the results are pretty funny. Here are just a few examples.

• John Fogerty’s southern accent via Southern California has led some people to mishear a particular line from “Bad Moon Rising.” Instead of “There’s a bad moon on the rise,” some believe he’s singing, “There’s a bathroom on the right.”
  
• Michael Jackson’s emotive voice has led people to garble a line from “Billie Jean.” Jackson repeatedly wails that “the kid is not my son,” but some swear he’s saying, “The chair is not my son.”
  
• Christmas carols aren’t immune to garbled lyrics. Consider this line from “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”: “Now bring us some figgy pudding.” Since figs are no longer a big Yuletide favorite, some believe the line is, “Now bring us some frigging pudding.”