Ever heard a school bus called a school hack? Grant and Martha explain the etymology of hack, beginning with hackney horses in England, then referring to the drivers of the horse-drawn carriages, then the carriages themselves, and finally the automobiles that replaced them. A museum in Richmond, Indiana, has a vintage yellow school hack, once used in the 19th and early 20th centuries to bring rural children to their schoolhouse. Incidentally, the contemporary term hack, meaning a tired old journalist, comes directly from the original term for the tired old horse. A bit about school bus history. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Etymology of Hack”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, this is Lyndra Hyatt.
I’m calling from Indiana.
Where in Indiana?
Windfall, Indiana.
It’s about 50-some miles northeast.
Are there a lot of apple trees there?
No, not too many.
What’s on your mind?
Well, my husband has this…
Whenever the school bus stops out front, he says, well, there’s a school hack, and it’s every day during the school year. I just want to pull my hair out because he doesn’t know what he’s saying, what it means, and neither do I.
It’s become such a joke that my friend that lives in the south end of town will call and tell Jerry, well, the school hack’s on its way, Jerry.
So it’s just, it’s…
So what bothers you is that he says it every day or that he doesn’t know what it means or both?
Or that the school bus stops in front of your house.
Yes, it stops right in front of our house. We live in a small town, and let’s pull the children out.
Okay.
But, no, he doesn’t know what it means, and neither do I. And that he says it every day, so maybe I can have an answer for him.
Have you considered moving?
No, I hadn’t.
Blocketing the street.
Linda’s going to be out there with the trash barrels.
You can’t.
You shoddy ass.
I think I’ll put him out on the porch, and he can say it out there.
And then, you know, I wanted to listen to it.
Foam earplugs are really cheap, Linda.
I need to invest in some, right?
Well, Linda, let me ask you, are you both born and raised there in Windfall in northeastern Indiana?
Well, my husband has lived in Windfall all of his 66 years. We went to school here. I was born a few miles away, but, yes, we’ve always just lived right here.
Mm—
Mm—
Do you think there’s a connection there, Martha?
I sure do. Well, school hack is a shortened term. It comes from hackney carriage, which is a kind of carriage that they used to use back in the days when there were still one room school houses and really small classes.
But the children came from lots of different places in rural areas. And I’m fascinated to hear that you’re from Indiana because you know what?
If you go to Richmond, Indiana, which is what, a little bit south of you?
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You can go. This would be a fun trip for you and your husband to go to the museum there because there’s a big, beautiful yellow school hack.
Really?
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They used these in the 19th and early 20th century. They were precursors of the school bus.
And it’s big and bright and yellow, but it looks sort of like a carriage. And these were horse-drawn carriages.
Oh, that sounds great.
That would be a good anniversary trip.
Yeah, don’t tell him.
Just surprise him.
Of course, he might just say it more.
But it sounds like you will get a little relief from knowing that this is connected to some other older terms that ultimately all derive from a horse.
So here’s the quick synopsis. First, there was a horse known as a hackney, right? And then the driver of the horse became known as a hackney, sometimes called a hack.
Then the carriage that was pulled by that horse and manned by that driver became known as a hackney or a hack. And then the automobile, which replaced that carriage, became known as a hackney or a hack.
And the driver of that automobile also became called a hack. And somewhere along the way, a horse that was old and beat up and ready to go to the glue factory became known as a hack.
And then tired old journalists who are really terrible at their craft became known as hacks after the tired old horses.
Right.
And they write hackneyed prose. It’s all from the same family. And they write hackneyed prose. And they all ultimately come from a horse.
So your husband is maybe the most annoying person in your little town, but he’s on to something.
Oh, well, I have to agree with that.
Both ways.
Well, he’ll be glad to know that, and I will too. But, you know, like I said, it’s become a joke. And it’s not funny.
Well, I hope that’s the most of his sins, Linda.
Oh, I think so.
That’s good.
Yeah, and it turns out that Richmond, Indiana, was a major manufacturing center for the precursors of the school bus. So I think you’ve got your anniversary trip all planned out.
I think so, too.
Don’t tell him. Find a good restaurant. Get a blindfold. Load him into the car. If you have to, knock him out with a ball-peen hammer. Just get him there.
And when he wakes up, you can show him.
That sounds like that would be a good trip. I might have to get my friend and take her so she can tag along and she can also see.
Well, if you do go, let us know how it turns out. Send us some pictures, will you?
Okay, I will.
Yeah.
Thanks, Linda, for calling.
Oh, thank you so much.
Bye-bye.
Take care, Linda.
Bye-bye.
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