As to skedaddle, look at the military’s degradation of “attention!” to “ted-HUT!” – sounds to me like one might have said “let’s get outa here”, then s’getouta here, then skedaddle! That’s my theory, a lot o phrases formed that way, but I want to know the origins of “let’s book” which I thought was ludicrous when all of my peers in high school started using it as if they’d known it all their lives.
Michael:
November 17th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Doesnt the phrase “high tail…” come from the word hie? Which means to hasten. I vaguely remember reading that it had to do with a hunting term where the master would command his dogs to “hie on”. When the game was spotted by the dog it would stop and stiffen its tail as if pointing, thus the hie tail. Or it could be that one’s tail is the last thing seen as one hie tails it out of Dodge?
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Ai:
January 30th, 2009 at 1:41 am
thank you! such a good article. I am from japan
Greg Field:
May 28th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
As to skedaddle, look at the military’s degradation of “attention!” to “ted-HUT!” – sounds to me like one might have said “let’s get outa here”, then s’getouta here, then skedaddle! That’s my theory, a lot o phrases formed that way, but I want to know the origins of “let’s book” which I thought was ludicrous when all of my peers in high school started using it as if they’d known it all their lives.
Michael:
November 17th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Doesnt the phrase “high tail…” come from the word hie? Which means to hasten. I vaguely remember reading that it had to do with a hunting term where the master would command his dogs to “hie on”. When the game was spotted by the dog it would stop and stiffen its tail as if pointing, thus the hie tail. Or it could be that one’s tail is the last thing seen as one hie tails it out of Dodge?