It is funny how over time the meaning of a word or phrase can change. We are all familiar with "gung ho" which we use to mean overly zealous or enthusiastic.
As I was reading The Language of World War II by A. Marjorie Taylor I learned that its origin is Chinese and that it means "work together." It was also a nickname for Lieutenant Colonel Evans F. Carlson.
Another word is "Grumlin." It was coined as "a name given to 'saboteurs of the spirit' on the home front," by Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House.
"The Grumlin," Rayburn declared, "does the same job of sabotage on the home front that the Gremlin (q.v.) does to the airplanes of our pilots fighting the Axis."
The bombings of Monday reveal that we may have to retrieve this word from the literary graveyard.
As I was reading The Language of World War II by A. Marjorie Taylor I learned that its origin is Chinese and that it means "work together." It was also a nickname for Lieutenant Colonel Evans F. Carlson.
Another word is "Grumlin." It was coined as "a name given to 'saboteurs of the spirit' on the home front," by Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House.
"The Grumlin," Rayburn declared, "does the same job of sabotage on the home front that the Gremlin (q.v.) does to the airplanes of our pilots fighting the Axis."
The bombings of Monday reveal that we may have to retrieve this word from the literary graveyard.
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