Word detective traces the origins of strange words. For instance, Yahoo means an ignorant brute. Hamburgers have nothing to do with ham — they’re so called because they come from Hamburg, Germany. Beefeaters are the guards at the The Tower of London (Yeomen guards). Word detective doesn’t know why they’re called that, but I can confirm first-hand that the Yeomen guards don’t know why themselves.
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S Anand
Technology, business and fun