Categories
Clothing

Balbriggan

Named after the Irish seaport town where this fabric material of the same name is made, Balbriggan arose in the 18th Century from a small fishing village to a place of commercial and manufacturing importance, thanks to Baron Hamilton, who introduced cotton manufacture in 1780.

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Clothing Life

Moccasin

The word moccasin in association with Native American footwear has been adopted by the greater American public but it was never a universally understood word within the different Native American tribes.  Moccasin was the word for shoe in the Virginia Algonquian language and was passed into English as a generalization through the encounters early English settlers had with the native community.  Captain John Smith of the Jamestown settlement is attributed with noting the translation in his 1612 glossary, ‘mockasins: shoes.’  In actuality, each tribe used words in their own language or dialect to signify shoe/slipper and it is coincidence that has made ‘moccasin’ the lasting word in English.  It is more than coincidence and surely a tribute to the beauty of the design and image of the moccasin that it has been preserved as a style of shoe until today and continues to permeate the broader fashion market.

Categories
Leisure Life

Posh

It actually came from a phrase used by the East India Trading Company, which, of course, was based in London.

When it booked passengers round-trip to India, the more affluent passengers would request a cabin on the side of the ship least exposed to the Atlantic Ocean gales.

Hence, they were given cabins ‘port outbound, starboard homebound.’ It eventually was abbreviated to posh.

Categories
Leisure Life

On/Off the Wagon

When the mob was running moonshine, it was required that the drivers not drink alcohol.

So, when one is On the wagon, one is not supposed to drink alcohol.

Categories
Clothing Everyday Leisure Life

If the shoe Fits, Wear It

This is a misquote of another term:

John Ozell (1714) [translated] Moliere: “If the cap fits, put it on.”