I've got a Crush on Your Bodaciousness, IWSG, Quotes, Being Thankful

It's February, so of course there's going to be a little something about love.

 Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: I have a crush on you

We all know what it feels like to have a crush on someone or for someone to have crush on you. But how/when/where did the word "crush" come to mean liking someone a whole bunch?

As you might imagine there are numerous theories regarding its evolution. 1.) In Madame Bovary 

Isabella

(1856), there is this passage: "But the more Emma recognized her love, the more she crushed it down that it might not be evident..." 2.) Isabella Maud Rittenhouse, an American who kept diaries between the ages of 16 and 30, is said to have used the word crush in the sense we mean it today in 1884. But I can't find a quote. 3.) Eric Partidge a New Zealand lexicographer, thought crush was a variation on mash which by the 1870s was a popular slang word for being flirtatious. To "mash" on someone was to be head over heels. (A phrase that never quite made sense to me. Shouldn't it been heels over head? Maybe I'll look into that another time.) 4.) The esteemed Oxford English Dictionary suggests that "mash" (which then evolved into "crush") comes from the Romani masherava, meaning to allure or entice. 

There's a lot more on mash/masher but I'm not going to go into all of that.

To have a crush, I think, implies that your feelings for someone are strongly pressing on you, crushing you in a most delightful and, at times, agonizing way.

Today's Weird Word is: Bodacious  What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear or read the word bodacious? It's a great word with lots of nuance. Outright, unmistakable, remarkable, noteworthy, outstanding, bold, audacious, brazen, voluptuous, sexy.

It's etymology, from around 1837, is Southern US. It  perhaps comes from "bodyaciously" meaning bodily, totally. Or, it's a blend of bold and audacious (which I like.) It fell out of use but in 1982 became popular again in the movie "An Officer and Gentleman," when Worley says, "Did you see that bodacious set of tatas?" But I think it's real come-back happened when it was used extensively in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure to mean all it's original meanings of excellence.

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Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:    Joylene Nowell Butler, Louise Barbour, and Tyrean Martinson!

This month's question is: Is there a story or book you've written you want to/wish you could go back and change? Short answer? No. I'm happy with all the stories/books I've had published.

Quotes of the Month

‘Sixteen Candles’

That’s why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they’d call them something else.

Unknown

You know that tingly little feeling you get when you like someone? That is your common sense leaving your body.

Jimmy Fallon

Oh, here's an idea: Let's make pictures of our internal organs and give them to other people we love on Valentine's Day. That's not weird at all.

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful that I'm on the path of getting cataracts removed... A little scared, but thankful it's a much easier process than it was when my grandmother had hers done. 

What are you thankful for? Is there a story or book you've published that you wish you could change? Was your first crush/love a good or not so good experience? (Mine was bodacious!)