Classic Toys

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Classic Toys. Lego, Ludo, Sindy and Barbie, just how and why were these classic toys and games so named? A look at why the marketing men of our childhood, and our children’s childhood, chose these often quite puzzling names. There is a PowerPoint presentation to accompany this talk if required.

Scalextric is simply an abbreviation of ‘scale’ and ‘electrics’. Not only boys toys, for some 40 years ago I was beaten at this in a night club by none other than Anne Diamond. A couple of years ago I was on her radio show and, off the air, mentioned the evening which she actually remembered – although she didn’t remember me – anyway we did race.

Jenga is a Swahili word meaning ‘build’. (and yes, I do know this is Lego)

Sindy was made by Pedigree Dolls and Toys and first marketed in 1954 in direct opposition to Barbie. It was chosen from a street survey of little girls out of four names – sadly the other three are not known. However we do know the original spelling was Cindy, as the girl’s name is usually seen. This had to be changed because one cannot register a common name as a trademark. Ironically the popularity of the doll resulted in an increase in the number of young girls being named ‘Cindy’ but with the alternative spelling of ‘Sindy’.

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.

That was not what I meant. (J)

The etymology of 'Jargon' has always been one of my favourites.

Jangle, the discordant sound of metal on metal, is first recorded in the thirteenth century as meaning 'to chatter'.

Jargon might today be used to describe talk using specialist knowledge, but in the fourteenth century the word referred to the 'twittering of birds'.

Jaunt was used to mean 'ride a horse back and forth' in the sixteenth century, not simply 'a short pleasure trip' as today.

Jeopardy is to take a risk, but came to English from the Old French jeu parti or 'divided game', but used in English to refer to a chess move in the fourteenth century.

Jet is a stream of matter, usually gaseous but sometimes liquid, but began in sixteenth century English as a synonym for 'project, protrude, stick out'.

Jilt is to reject, and particularly a lover, but first appeared in English in the seventeenth century to mean 'loose woman, harlot'.

Journal, a record of ones thoughts or activities, is a word first seen in the fourteenth century when it referred to a book containing prayers for the different canonical hours of the day.

Junket is a sweet milk dessert consumed most often on feast days, but the word originated in the fourteenth century as a reference to a basket for fish destined for the table, ths later transferred to the contents. In later centuries those contents altered, too.

Name of the Game

When giving a talk on the origins of pub names recently I invited questions from the audience for specific examples they would like to understand. It is something I do comparatively early as, and the same is true of my talks on place names, there are so many examples it is impossible to know which to specific names to cover - I learned a long time ago it is not good enough to prepare a list of local names, for the audience are more likely to ask about names out of the area.

I was asked for the origin of the pub name Fox & Goose. This has been corrupted for it was originally Fox & Geese, the change undoubtedly because signpainters insist on depicting this as the predator and its prey, when it is nothing of the kind. It is an advertisement, one telling potential customers there is a board game played within. Fox and geese is a variation on the classic and truly ancient game of strategy better known as Nine Men's Morris. An image of the game can be seen below, method of play I may well cover at a different time.

This made me think about other board games and the origins of these names. As a kid, assuming you are above a certain age, we all had the Compendium of Games for Christmas. This included the ubiquitous Ludo which, as any trivia buff will know, is named for the Latin for 'I play'. But what of the others, presumably these have some story to tell of their origins.

Nine Men's Morris seems the logical place to start, although the name is somewhat uncertain. The number is easy enough to see when we reveal there are also varieties known as Six Men's Morris and Twelve Men's Morris, with the 'men' also clearly why we often refer to pieces as such on a game board irrespective of the game. As already noted the game is ancient indeed, with evidence showing this was certainly played at least 3,500 years ago, and probably originated in the Middle East and thus the English name for the game is likely a corruption of 'Moorish'. Aside from the Fox and Geese name, it has also been called Mills, Merels, The Mill Game, Merrills, Merelles, Marelles, Morelles, Ninepenny Marl, Cowboy Checkers, and others.

Backgammon is known from at least the 13th century, and is thought to be 'back' because the oppoents are (hopefull) forced into turning back, while gamen is simply the Middle English origin of 'game'.

Chess came to English from Old French esches and was simply the name of the game, although the Modern French echec is used in the sense of 'check, blow, rebuff, defeat'. Originally the name is from Sanskrit, where chaturanga referred to 'four members of an army', these being elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers.

Checkers returns us to pub names again, where (in Britain) the name of the Chequers pointed out a board game similar to the modern version was played within. The name became popular as a pub name as it was soon used for a moneylender, something inn-keepers would often take up as a second string to their financial bow. Hence the name refers to the board. In Britain it is most often referred to as 'draughts', this thought to refer to the way pieces are 'dragged' across the board when making a move.

Mahjong was originally known in the Far East as maque meaning 'sparrow', although most often this is known as majiang among Mandarin-speaking Chinese today.

Parcheesi is a fairly recent introduction to English, which explains why it has changed so very little since adopted from the Hindi pachis meaning 'twenty-five' and the highest throw possible with the dice used. It seems likely the original name would still be in use were it not for the game being mass produced in 1892 and sold under the Parcheesi trademark.

Snakes and Ladders is also known as Chutes and Ladders in the USA, the American version down to the marketing of Milton Bradley who advertised it as "an improved version of England's famous indoor sport" - clearly Mr Bradley had no notion of British indoor sports! This came to Britain from India as a game intended to teach the benefits of virtue, being adapted for the British market but retaining the original snakes and ladders motifs. In India it was known as Moksha Patam, with moksha being the central concept of Hinduism and derived from the Sanskrit munc meaning 'free, release, let go, liberate' with patam meaning 'ladders'.