#geegaw

[hattyhatterson]

I CANT W I TH THIS FUCJING THING

[incorrectoc-quotes]

Nue: To associate with Dixon, you must complete these qualification forms. *hands Geegaw and Ipmis stacks of paper*

[Hours Pass]

Geegaw: Uhm, Ipmis, what did you get for question 319?

Ipmis: C, lure the tiger away from Dixon by imitating a chicken strip.

[incorrectoc-quotes]

Dixon's Lost Innocence

Dixon: I'm inside Daisy's Heart-Shaped Box.

SAIL + Geegaw: *looks at him in silent shock*

SAIL: *sighs*

Geegaw: Oh my Zorg...

SAIL: You know what that is, right?

Dixon: No, actually. I just know it's a song.

SAIL: Sweet Zorg almighty, Dixon.

Geegaw: Uh-huh.

SAIL: *looks at Geegaw* Do you wanna tell him? Or should we just leave that open to interpretation?

Dixon: I don't know what it means!

SAIL: What would a Heart-Shaped Box mean?!

Dixon: I dunno. A box of chocolates on Valentine's Day?

SAIL: OH MY ZORG, DIXON!

Dixon: *laughs* I'm sorry. I've such an innocent mind.

SAIL: APPARENTLY!

Geegaw: *laughs*

SAIL: Based on the Morning Wood comments, you're totally innocent!

Dixon: I don't know what a Heart-Shaped Box is, okay?! I just thought it was a box shaped like a heart! Possibly containing chocolates. Can you tell me what it means?

SAIL: The chat cannot believe it!

Dixon: Can you tell me what it means?

SAIL: They're telling me to tell you what it means!

Dixon: What?

SAIL: IT MEANS VAGINA!

Dixon: *bursts out laughing, unable to comprehend the fact that's what it means*

Geegaw: Yep, that's what a heart-shaped box is.

SAIL: Sheesh, Dixon!

Dixon: I didn't know that, ok?!

[linguisticsbunker]

The Excitable Etymologist: Geegaw

Geegaw is one of those words you completely forget about until your sixty-five year-old Southern neighbor uses it in a sentence, after which point you cannot seem to get it out of your head. What even is a geegaw? Why is it sometimes spelled “gewgaw”? And most importantly, of course, where does this word come from? 

Well, my friend, wonder no longer. 

Geegaws (or gewgaws) are shiny, sparkly bits with no discernible purpose, much like every Christmas present my great aunts have ever bought me. So, now that you know what geegaw means, where does it come from?

Would you believe that it comes from French baby-talk? Geegaw began as jou-jou, a French baby-talk word for “toy,” from jouer, “to play.” This, through possible merger with Old French gogue “prank, game” developed into giuegaue in the 13th century. But how did we go from a very French spelling to a very phonetic English spelling? 

The Online Etymology Dictionary doesn’t say, but my guess is that the word became a colloquialism and dropped out of the written language for a few centuries. During these years, it went from meaning “toy” to meaning “useless fancy trinket”, and eventually re-entered the English language through an attempt to imitate the speech of lower-class people. Because the word was unknown to the novelist attempting to add some “local color” to their work, they spelled it phonetically. 

Thanks for reading this week’s Excitable Etymologist! Next week: Birds. 

[dizzyhslightlyvoided]

Kirk: What do you make of this, gentlemen?

Spock: It appears to be a knick-knack, Captain.

Red Shirt: I don't know, I think it's more of a geegaw.

McCoy: Nah, it's definitely a gimcrack.

[therandomcolor]