Where did that word come from?

[JB]

I heard some guy on the TV say today that the term "blockbuster" came from an entertainment event that caused lines around the block.

My own recollection is that the term was the name of a very large bomb developed by the Brits in WWII that could flatten an entire block.

Who is correct?

What other terms have had their true origins lost, or nearly lost?

 

[technostingray]

Re: Where did that word come from?

You are always right, or you don't mention it.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Where did that word come from?

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Guess that was not what you were talking about....

 

[rolmops]

Re: Where did that word come from?

I thought that the British bombs were called "tall boys" or "dam busters"

 

[technostingray]

Re: Where did that word come from?

I remember a cartoon where american bombs were rererred to as Blockbusters. The one where the gremlin is hitting it with a hammer and bugs bunny says....
Q. How did the term ‘blockbuster’ come into existence?


A. Though now-a-days, blockbuster is a term associated with the fate of a movie, half a century back, it had a different meaning. In the World War II, huge bombs were dropped on various parts of Germany, with the objective of reducing blocks of buildings to dust. And that got written down in the annals of a history as a ‘blockbuster’. Now, however, when a movie is such a hit that blocks after blocks of tickets get sold out, it is called a blockbuster!

 

[technostingray]

Re: Where did that word come from?

How about the true meaning of Curmudgeon?

 

[Andrew Leigh]

Re: Where did that word come from?

From


http://www.wordorigins.org/Words/LetterB/blockbuster.html

Blockbuster

This term has three distinct senses. The first use of blockbuster was during World War II, meaning a large aerial bomb. It was formed from the words for a city block and bust, a verb meaning "to break." A blockbuster was a bomb large enough to destroy a city block. Time magazine printed this in its 29 September 1942 issue:

Inside a sturdy observation tower a mile from the exploding block busters which the Army is now testing.
The second sense means anything, especially a movie, play, or book, that is large, important, or popular. The term appears to have arisen shortly after the war, and was probably a play on the concept of the large bomb. Ironically, the term bomb in show business or publishing means a complete failure, while a blockbuster is a huge success.

J.H. Burns's Gallery of 1946 has this:

The largest woman in captivity . . . We call her blockbuster.
The show business sense appears in 1957 in G. Smith's Friends:

One day I had what seemed to me like a block-buster of an idea for a musical play.
The third sense is from real estate. A blockbuster is a real estate agent who sells a house in an all-white neighborhood to a minority, especially black, family. Once the city block is busted, the other houses on the block are likely to come on the market at a depressed price and end up being sold to other minority families. This term, again created from the words for city block and bust, meaning to break, appeared after the war as well, and again was probably a play on the original concept of the aerial bomb. Only this time, it was not the size of the bomb that is the reference, but rather its ability to "destroy" a city block.

From Lake and Mortimer's USA (1952):

They are kept out . . . with the same kind of coercion and violence that whites show when their neighborhoods are block-busted.
(Sources: Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition; Historical Dictionary of American Slang)

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Where did that word come from?

Some boating drunk said "DockBuster", and another drunk boater thought he said get me a "Bock" buster, so on the way for more beer, he got a movie, and the rest is lost in history.. 8)

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Where did that word come from?

[colour=blue]

What other terms have had their true origins lost, or nearly lost?

Interesting question.

What about

 

[OBJ]

Re: Where did that word come from?

I think "POOF" is a Mod acronym for "Preservation Of Our Forums".......d Sounds good anywho.

 

[technostingray]

Re: Where did that word come from?

Me thinks OBJ has banged his head against that brick wall one too many times. :noemoticon:
No comments on the true meaning of Curmudgeon?

 

[JB]

Re: Where did that word come from?

Curmudgeon: A rude, nasty bad tempered person.
8)

 

[QC]

Re: Where did that word come from?

LMAO @ JB

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Where did that word come from?

8) Way to go JB!
A succinct answer if ever I saw one....
It might even shut him up, (but I doubt it).....d.....JK

 

[technostingray]

Re: Where did that word come from?

Curmudgeon: A rude, nasty bad tempered person.
8)

My Eyes, My Eyes
The pictured supplied is an example of a curmudgeon, or am I supposed to skeeeeered?

Edit: Nice hat.

 

[technostingray]

Re: Where did that word come from?

8) Way to go JB!
A succinct answer if ever I saw one....
It might even shut him up, (but I doubt it).....d.....JK

Hey feckless, to whom are you refering? There is one thing that is never in doubt and that is the wino will never shut up.

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: Where did that word come from?

JB, You could be a twin for my ex-father-in-law. His daughter divorced me in 1978 but he and I still see each other along with his son, my ex-brother-in -law. Naw, don't ever see the ex-wife.

 

[stevieray]

Re: Where did that word come from?

I was surprised at the number of terms that have nautical origins.

One that stands out is "bitter end" (as in hang on to the bitter end). Most people think the "bitter" means the opposite of "sweet" and usage that way has become common, but it is actually the very end of a line that ties to the bitt - or deck posts.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Where did that word come from?

JB looks like my father-in-law as well. The only difference is Jb doesn't stand as close to his razor as my fil does...

 

[Andrew Leigh]

Re: Where did that word come from?

I heard some guy on the TV say today that the term "blockbuster" came from an entertainment event that caused lines around the block.

My own recollection is that the term was the name of a very large bomb developed by the Brits in WWII that could flatten an entire block.

Who is correct?

What other terms have had their true origins lost, or nearly lost?

"Balls to the wall"

comes from pilots. The engine throttles used to have round balls on the tops of the throttle levers. For full acceleration one would push the throttles forward towards the firewall, hence.

"Balls to the wall".

Cheers
Andrew