So the other day I used the term "willy-nilly" twice within 2 hours. I wasn't necessarily trying to and I wasn't using it willy-nilly. In other words, I was using it appropriately and I meant it in all seriousness.
Then a friend of mine told me how much she loves the term.
Two days later a professor used it during his lecture.
The usefulness of "willy-nilly" cannot be denied. It's a great word. But where in the world did it come from?
So, before heading to google to look up the origin of willy-nilly, I'd like you to post a comment (either here or on facebook) with your own theory for willy-nilly's origination.
The person who comes up with the most convincing theory gets a prize. (The prize is still to be determined....it may involve chocolate or something far more valuable like an original haiku/limerick written just for you).
Be creative!
October 6, 2009
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5 comments:
The term actually originated in Oklahoma along with the game it is associated with, Spades. Spades was big in Oklahoma for many years and was played religiously by Gene Autry and his good friend Will Rogers. The two of them would often play as partners in the game and took on many famous people. They were very good except for Rogers' constant desire to go "Nil." So much so that he was given the nickname Willy-Nilly but only around the card table.
Actually the term originates in Slocum Station, Ohio (my home town). My brother's name is William, even though we all called him Frank, except when mom was frustrated. I was often with him during those moments and my name is Neil. In her frustration, at random moments she would shout for the entire neighborhood to hear “willy nilly”. The phrase became a part of the Slocum jargon. It eventually traveled down the creek, Ward’s Run to the Little Scioto River, to the Ohio River on to the Mississippi and eventually into the gulf and now has been scattered about the country. I am not sure to be proud or embarrassed that mom’s frustration with two little boys ends up being referred to in the ivory towers of academia.
Uncle Nink
This is not an answer to your question, rather it is a piggy-back. Is it possible for one to dilly-dally willy-nilly?
I wrote an entire comment about Little House on the Prairie and Willy and Nellie Olsen, etc. It didn't save and now I am so discouraged that I can't rewrite it cleverly.
My dearest Na-til-ia
Should I be ashamed of myself? I don't recall this word at all!? :)
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