May I just state that I'm jealous of your ownership of an OED, 2nd ed.? My little old Webster's is but a pretender to the throne. *sigh* If I had an OED, I'd be quoting it constantly too. One of these days, I will purchase a set and point it out on every tour of my house. "And on your right is my Oxford English Dictionary, a full set. Would anyone like to look up a word?" Oh, the fun I could have... Anyway, personally, the etymology of words is perhaps one of the most interesting subjects I know. Thanks, and keep providing that kind of information. Regards, Cecilia. --- On Tue, 31 Aug 1999 14:26:21 Tim O'Connor wrote: <clip> >According to the OED, 2nd ed., it's slang. And they comment: "[Etym. >unknown. Numerous conjectures have been made about the origin of the >word but all lack foundation.]" <clip> >--tim --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Share what you know. Learn what you don't.