Thursday, October 8, 2009
A Post of No Import
How did the Binky become the Binky? It is not a brand name, like Kleenex. You don't hear the word "binky" anywhere in the word "pacifier". In fact, the two words don't even share any of the same sounds! And yet, universally, it is understood that a binky is a pacifier. How is that?
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3 comments:
I've wondered about that one too. Kristel used to say "neenie" for bottle, and it confused Anthony, who couldn't keep "neenie" straight from "binky." There are other 'baby' words that make me wonder, especially for little boys. One day in Primary, a 4-year-old announced that he needed to "tinkle." My co-teacher was confused, but I just grinned and took him to the potty. We were 16 or 17 at the time.
haha! Really, I agree. These are important questions! :)
http://www.word-detective.com/2009/01/16/binky/
When I told the boys about your post, they asked, "You didn't Google it?" So I finally did, and here's what I found.
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