What's With The Word 'O.K.'?
September 9th 2006 07:01
Ever wondered where things like the word O.K. came from? Apparently a guy named Rudolph Brasch did, and he wrote about it in a book called How Did It Begin? I just found it on our bookshelf and it’s got that great old paperback smell so I imagine it’s been around for a while. I’d like to ask this Rudolph character how the book itself began, because it’s full of the
strangest trivia. He looks at peculiarities like candles on birthday cakes, the aversion to red hair, X for a kiss, the Adam’s apple, expressions like “raining cats and dogs” or “break a leg.” Some to be saved for a future blog entry perhaps.
I flicked straight to “how did ‘O.K.’ begin?” because I have from time to time wondered exactly that, and have been offered some pretty varied attempted explanations from people, most of which explained nothing, and left the malcontent of my curiosity unaltered.
Is it an arbitrary word or an abbreviation or an acronym? Why is it the most globally used expression? Of all the possible explanations of its origin, it seems, we will never know which one is truly O.K. (or is it 'okay'?). According to Bresch: “This shortest and internationally adopted expression supplies one of the longest lists of possible explanations. Illiteracy, political slander, a clever election campaign, bureaucratic efficiency, a Red Indian chief and the French, they all, in turn, have been credited as the originators of O.K.” His accounts of each of these possibilities seem far fetched on their own, but perhaps the O.K. came into usage from a combination of factors.
Either way, it would be pretty hard to go a day without it. Certainly for the large-headed Mr Mackey, who uses the word at the end of everything he
says. “Drugs are bad, m’kay?” “South Park is the shizzle m’kay?” and “I’m gonna kill myself, m’kay?” - this guy would be nothing without it. Check out his song Don't Say Fuck Anymore Just Use The Word M'Kay.
And if you, dear reader, think you know the story behind this funny little term, I would like to hear it, m'kay?
British monthly magazine OK! was launched here in 2004 to feed the insatiable hunger for celebrity
I flicked straight to “how did ‘O.K.’ begin?” because I have from time to time wondered exactly that, and have been offered some pretty varied attempted explanations from people, most of which explained nothing, and left the malcontent of my curiosity unaltered.
Is it an arbitrary word or an abbreviation or an acronym? Why is it the most globally used expression? Of all the possible explanations of its origin, it seems, we will never know which one is truly O.K. (or is it 'okay'?). According to Bresch: “This shortest and internationally adopted expression supplies one of the longest lists of possible explanations. Illiteracy, political slander, a clever election campaign, bureaucratic efficiency, a Red Indian chief and the French, they all, in turn, have been credited as the originators of O.K.” His accounts of each of these possibilities seem far fetched on their own, but perhaps the O.K. came into usage from a combination of factors.
Either way, it would be pretty hard to go a day without it. Certainly for the large-headed Mr Mackey, who uses the word at the end of everything he
Mr. Mackey on LSD
And if you, dear reader, think you know the story behind this funny little term, I would like to hear it, m'kay?
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Comment by Holistic
But that's just a myth ehe
Namasté,
Ricardo
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Just my two cents
Comment by ag
Eat French Bread
The list of possibilities continues...
Comment by Pete Harrison
Climate Change Updates
Comment by Adrian
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