Word #10
bumbershoot
[buhm-ber-shoot]
(n): an umbrella
Me ol’ bam-boo, me ol’ bam-boo
You'd better never bother with me ol’ bam-boo
You can have me hat or me bumbershoot
But you'd better never bother with me ol’ bam-boo
-- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
note from tkp: We're not sure about the origin of this word! But guess work's been done:
probably coined in the 19th century as a portmanteau of umbrella and parachute. --wikipedia.com
The first example of bumbershoot in Professor Lighter’s Random House Historical Dictionary of the American Language is from 1896. There were some variations around in the early days, such as bumbersol (with sol presumably taken from parasol) and bumberell. By the first decade of the twentieth century it had settled down to bumbershoot.
This fairly rare example of the word in print comes from L Frank Baum’s book Sky Island of 1912:
“This umbrella has been in our family years, an’ years, an’ years. But it was tucked away up in our attic an’ no one ever used it ’cause itwasn’t pretty.” “Don’t blame ’em much,” remarked Cap’n Bill, gazing atit curiously. “It’s a pretty old-lookin’ bumbershoot.”
--World Wide Words
*This word came to my attention because it's the name of an international art and music festival that takes place in Seattle annually on Labor Day weekend.
[buhm-ber-shoot]
(n): an umbrella
Me ol’ bam-boo, me ol’ bam-boo
You'd better never bother with me ol’ bam-boo
You can have me hat or me bumbershoot
But you'd better never bother with me ol’ bam-boo
-- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
note from tkp: We're not sure about the origin of this word! But guess work's been done:
This fairly rare example of the word in print comes from L Frank Baum’s book Sky Island of 1912:
“This umbrella has been in our family years, an’ years, an’ years. But it was tucked away up in our attic an’ no one ever used it ’cause itwasn’t pretty.” “Don’t blame ’em much,” remarked Cap’n Bill, gazing atit curiously. “It’s a pretty old-lookin’ bumbershoot.”
--World Wide Words
*This word came to my attention because it's the name of an international art and music festival that takes place in Seattle annually on Labor Day weekend.