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One-Word Terms

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Admiral
Barbecue
Customize
Dadgum
Fahrvergnugen
Finalize
Glamorize
Horseradish
Motorize
Phoney
Quip
Sanitize
Vitalize



Admiral- The Arabic phrase "amir al bahr", which means "lord of the sea", is where the word "admiral" originates.

Barbecue-  This word originates from French-speaking pirates who called this Caribbean pork feast "de barbe et queue" which translates "from beard to tail".  In other words, the pig roast reflected the fact that the hog was an animal that could be consumed from head to toe;  very little was wasted.

Customize, Finalize, Glamorize, Motorize, Sanitize, Vitalize-  All of these words were invented by American advertising agencies.

Dadgum-  A light-hearted alternate of "god damn".  Popular interjection:  dadgummit.  An alternate of dadgum is dadburn.  This expression is used mainly in the Southern United States.

Fahrvergnugen-  This word became a media joke in the 90s, and bothered the heck out of us who didn't know what it was.  It is German for "driving enjoyment" and was an advertising slogan developed by Volkswagen in 1990 for a U.S. ad campaigan.  "Fahren", in German, means "to drive" and "vergnugen" means "enjoyment".  Over the years, when people talk about this word, it is sometimes spelled as it sounds: farfegnugen.

Horseradish-  The word "horse" in horseradish has absolutely nothing to do with the animal.  It means "course" or "rough."

Phoney-  In the early days of telephones, a person's voice on the phone would sound little like his/her true voice.  Ah...the days of crude technology.  The word "phoney" came about because of this fact.  Nowadays, the word is applied to anything that is fake or unreal. 


Quip-  Is short for the term "quid pro quo" and means a fast retort.