My last blog post received a couple of interesting replies. I shouldn’t have posted that while tired as it doesn’t seem the beginning is explained very well. Sorry ‘bout that. Hopefully the comments help to explain my thoughts a little better, even if they don’t perfect the post.

Let’s move on to the rest of today’s. Have you ever been gypped? Called a smart aleck? Do you use either of those phrases?

There is a relatively new word definition that is offending some of the more conservative people in our culture. MTV has a show called “Pimp your Ride” where “pimp” is supposed to be a good thing to do to your car. Other people in our culture have adapted that name for their own purposes, but those who created the show are not the ones who changed the word’s meaning. They only added to the popularity.

What do the phrases above have in common? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, here is what we know about the name “smart aleck”:

This expression, dating from the mid-1800s, probably alluded to a person of this description who was named Alec or Alexander, but his identity has been lost.

Aleck is a variant of Alec, which is short for Alexander. Some people think they know more to the origins of the phrase. From The Straight Dope:

According to G.L. Cohen, author of Studies in Slang Part 1 (1985), the phrase smart alec(k) arose from the exploits of one Alec Hoag. A celebrated pimp, thief, and confidence man operating out of New York City in the 1840's, Mr. Hoag, along with his wife Melinda and an accomplice known as "French Jack," operated a con called the "panel game," a method by which prostitutes and their pimps robbed foolish customers.

The “panel game” is roughly like playing with secret passages that many old houses and castles seem to have in the movies. Even though the “customer” barricaded the door they were still able to let themselves in while he slept.

Ready for another one? What about “Jewing” someone or being “Gypped”? Did the context trigger anything? They’re both racial slurs. “Jewing” is, of course, a reference to how some Jews have bartered, while “Gypped” comes from a belief that Gypsies would rip you off.

Sometimes you just have to laugh at which phrases are socially acceptable and which ones are not. Stories are the same way. In “The Little Mermaid,” after the heroine’s tail was split into feet, she ended up on a beach naked. It was after the prince saw her (she was still noticing where she was) that she wrapped her hair around herself. Little Red Riding Hood was about a pedophile (the wolf).

Don’t despair of where our world is. Meanings and tellings will change, only don’t help it for the worse. I won’t tell you exactly which words to use or not use but I do reserve the right to give you a hard time about some of them.