Books Mar 9, 2012 at 4:29 pm

Selections from My Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang

Courtney Ferguson
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1
The following isn't slang, but, rather, interesting etymology, also brought to you by the letter "D."

The word "delirium" originally meant, in Latin, "to go out of the furrow in plowing." Since the thoughts of a person in delirium leave the beaten track and become a jumble, they too can be said to "leave the furrow."

Info adapted from "Why Do We Say Such Things?" by Bruce Chapman (1947)
Todd Mecklem on March 11, 2012 at 10:30 AM Report this

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