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Kimble, A Masterful Walk

A woman in Carmel, Indiana, wonders about the use of the verb kimble to mean a certain kind of “strutting.” Kimbling is that proud, confident way of walking you might associate with Barack Obama or Denzel Washington. Green’s Dictionary of Slang has brief entries for the word, but its origin is unclear. This is part of a complete episode.

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2 comments
  • I can’t help but wonder if there is some connection between the work kimble, the confident rolling strut, and the word gimbal, a pivoted support that allows the rotation of an object about a single axis. Just a thought…

  • 1899 James E Kimble patent application centrifugal governor, If you look at a picture of this device it makes total sense… Love the show!

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