I’m such a big nerd that I tend to look up word origins in my spare time because I'm fascinated by our language. The odder the origin, the better. I've got a collection of random information in my brain that makes me an awesome Trivial Pursuit partner, but is completely useless when it comes to real world application. Like say, job applications.
In any case, I thought I'd share some of this random crap with you in the form of the new acronym-ific series. I give you - Word Origins from Left Field - that's right, the WOLF. Er... ignore the fact that the "from" doesn't fit.
Ever tell someone who is getting overly excited or irritated to keep their shirt on? If you're like me, you then instantly wondered why the hell you just said that, because obviously they're not going to start spontaneously disrobing.
Turns out, "Keep your shirt on," is an American saying used to tell someone to calm down, stemming from the fact that a long time ago people only had a few changes of clothes, if any at all. When a man was about to get into a fight, he would take off his shirt so that it wouldn't be ripped or stained. If someone was trying to stop a fight in the hopes that it could be still be settled with words, they told the would-be fighters to "keep their shirts on."
So my brawlers, remain decent. Remember, we're writers. Surely we've got something to say that can settle it before we strip down.