Wednesday, January 21, 2009

teetotalling

I like the word teetotalling. Coined in the 1800s by one Richard Turner, teetotal is a variation on total that Mr. Turner used in a speech to advance his thoughts on the prohibition of alcohol. Before I knew the history of the word, it reminded me of a tipsy, tottering seesaw -- certainly not the intention of a member of the British Temperance Society!
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2009 at 3:53 PM

    I had a fabulous old Southern lush for my second-grade teacher.

    Whenever I would pick my nose, she would shout:

    "That is teetotally tacky!"


    This word has personality.

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