A fair-haired listener has been puzzled by the origin of a word she’s heard all her life: “tow-headed.” And no, it has nothing to do with the digits on one’s feet. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Tow-Headed”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Yes, this is Florence May.
Hello, Florence May. Where are you calling from, Florence?
I’m calling from Indianapolis, Indiana, in the heartland.
Hello, hello Indianapolis.
Well, Flory, what’s up?
Well, I’ve got a question about the term toehead.
When I was growing up, I had very, very white, white blonde hair. And people would frequently ask me, are you an albino or are you just a toehead? And I just always, I guess I kind of have two questions. I’m curious about the real meaning, which I thought I knew until I threw it around to some of my relatives the other day. And they actually came up with some variations, I guess, on the meaning I thought. But I’m also curious about the origin.
Well, now, are all your relatives toe-headed, too?
Well, actually, we have a very interesting combination. People are either extremely blonde, extremely fair, very, very Scandinavian-looking, or they’re very dark.
Wow.
Nothing in between, just the two opposite ends of the spectrum.
In the same family.
In the same family.
So your question is just a little bit about the background of toe-headed, and that’s T-O-W.
Right? Yeah. Right. And you know, I’ve mistyped that before. Have you ever mistyped it as two-headed?
You have to watch that. There’s a big difference. Two-headed, yes. A very big difference.
Flory, the answer is actually very simple. Toe is a very, very old word for flax. You know, that fiber that comes from the flax plant. And flax is a soft yellow. It’s like the color of blonde hair. Yeah, yeah. Really, really light. Just like your hair.
It’s just a comparison. People say your hair is flaxen. It means exactly the same as calling it toe-headed or toe-colored.
Well, and that also makes sense because people will talk about, and you see it a lot of times in books where they talk about flaxen hair.
Exactly.
Exactly. Very same thing. It’s just an old word for flax.
Okay, well, interesting. All right.
Thank you so much for your call today. What color is your hair now?
It’s still blonde and I think I’ll, as my hairdresser said, she said, Flory, consider yourself lucky. You’re one of the only people on the planet that will never have to color.
Well, that’s good news. That’s great.
That’s great. Flory, thanks for calling. Thank you for your call.
Okay, well, thank you. We enjoy your show. My daughters listen to it with me.
All right.
Great to hear.
Thanks. Bye-bye. Thanks again.
Well, if a question about language has you tearing your hair out, give us a call. The number is 1-877-929-9673 or email us. The address is words@waywordradio.org.
