This week’s theme
Terms formed from names

This week’s words
Hooray Henry
nervous Nelly
flash Harry
Aunt Sally
good-time Charlie

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ant SAL-ee)

MEANING:

noun:
1. An object of criticism.
2. Someone or something set up as an easy target for criticism in order to deflect it from others.

ETYMOLOGY:

From aunt, from Old French ante, from Latin amita (father’s sister), diminutive of amma (mother) + Sally, a form of the name Sarah. Earliest documented use: 1858.

NOTES:

The term originated from a fairground game in the mid-1800s. The game involved throwing sticks at a human figurine to dislodge a pipe from her face. The figurine depicted a Black woman and was named Sally. This was a common name for women enslaved in the US. For example, a woman enslaved by Thomas Jefferson was called Sally Hemings. Over time, the figurine has evolved into a more abstract “doll”.

USAGE:

“Yet John Howard seems unable to ever see trouble coming. He is an Aunt Sally in a government of learners.”
Alan Ramsey; The Travel Club Genie Is Out; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Oct 4, 1997.

“‘Please wait, Aunt,’ Sally said hopefully.”
Reem Bassiouney (Translation: Osman Nusairi); The Pistachio Seller; Syracuse University Press; 2013.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: