11.17.08
Johnny on the spot
OK, we’ve been on a name kick the past few days. Let’s continue with that theme for a bit, with some unfortunate name origins that didn’t make it into my Unfortunate English: The Gloomy Truth Behind the Words You Use
I’m going to first indirectly pick on my friend JohnnyB, who is a bit zany and has himself taken to the stage to perform comedy (all this will tie together—I promise). Johnny’s very name (without the B) is implicit in zaniness, because Johns of the world, you have further reason to take offense.
First there’s that slang for “one who partakes in prostitutes” slang. Then there’s that euphemism for toilet. And now, another offense, one not so obvious. A long time ago, John was portrayed as a clown. He was zany. Literally.
The word zany traces back (through Middle French) to an Italian theatre form called “Commedia dell’ arte,” a partially improvised farce using broad stock characters wearing masks. Among the form’s many stock characters (blowhard, geezer, girl-chaser, lovers, harlequin) is the wacky, clownish servant. Zanni. Clownish Zanni. Zany Zanni. And Zanni is a regional familiar version of Giovanni . . . or John.
By the early 1600s the word came to adjective use, first meaning “ridiculous” and then taking on the meaning of “crazy, outlandish.”
So when you call someone zany, you are invoking the insulting portrayal of that John Fool, though anyone named John would have to be really zany to actually worry about it.
(Commedia dell’ arte also gave us the name of piece of clothing generally worn by Johns, zany or otherwise, but that’s a musing for another day.)
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JohnnyB said,
November 17, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Then there is the “Dear John” letter….
This has nothing much to do with your post but everything to do with “Bill” and “John”. Some time ago all the invoices sent to our company were delivered to me to review. Someone set up an account with a vendor and the vendor asked who to send the bill to. Our employee replied that they should send the bill to me, saying simply, “Bill John Bunyan.” So, sure enough, every invoice that vendor sends is addressed to Bill John Bunyan.
Bill Brohaugh said,
November 17, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I so often have to spell my last name that I immediately say “Bill Brohaugh–spelled B-R-O-H-A-U-G-H.” Doing this once in whatever official transaction it was, I looked down to see that the person I was dealing with had diligently written down “Bill Brohaughspelt.”