Allie in Decatur, Alabama, says her mother referred to an impish child as a schnickelfritz. This term for a “young rascal” is often used affectionately, and spelled any of several ways, including snicklefritz, snickelfritz, and schnickelfritz. It’s of German origin, most likely a combination of the common masculine name Fritz with another element, possibly the German dialectal word Schnickel or Schniggel, meaning “a little boy’s penis.” Schnickelfritz shows up in late 19th-century U.S. newspapers as a joking stand-in for a person of German heritage, much like the English term Joe Six-Pack or Spanish name Fulano is used as a placeholder. This is part of a complete episode.
According to Gobsmacked: The British Invasion of American English (Bookshop|Amazon) by Ben Yagoda, the word smarmy, meaning “unctuous” or “ingratiating,” may come from a 19th-century magazine contest, in which readers sent in...
Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...
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