I have always wondered why it was called that

[pstlpkr]

I'm on a fishing expedition this morning. While having my cup of "JOE" this morning; it occurred to me that some may not know why that cup of coffee is referred to as "JOE".

There are a plethora of things that are referred to by humorous names.

e.g. Sliders = hamburgers (because they are greasy and will slide) But what's the story behind it?

OR:

Dust collector and liabilities = The wife and kids (self explanatory) {that one is for our friends across the pond}
Cup of Joe:

Joesephus Daniels was the Secretary of the Navy during WWI. He was a Teetotaler. I would call him notorious for his most infamous of decrees. Naval tradition up until the day Secretary Daniels banned alcohol aboard naval vessel's; sailors had enjoyed their daily rations of port, beer, rum, and grog, etc.

Ever since the prohibition of alcohol aboard our Navy's ships, the strongest drink available to our sailors at sea, has been that cup of "JOE".

 

[oppie]

I love this kind of stuff. Excellent.

 

[pstlpkr]

Thanks Oppie,
Anybody got any?
Definition of Cowboy Coffee:

Coffee strong enough to float a horseshoe.

 

[cortezattic]

"Perique" is said to be the nickname of Pierre Chemot (or Chenet, whatever), who first observed the Choctaw & Chickasaw Indians making the eponymous tobacco. At least in olden times the tobacco was prepped for distribution by rolling it into what resembled a rock hard, black log about 12" long and a couple inches in diameter. A very phallic-looking thing. So it's no surprise that "perique" is coincidentally a vulgar French word for "prick". That still does not rule out the possibility that it was named after Pierre.

 

[pstlpkr]

That's cool Phil,
I always thought it was an alcoholic drink.
I have always loved the phrase; "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey."

 

[unclearthur]

All I know is it gets cold enough up here to interrupt the breeding cycles of brass monkeys

 

[jcsoldit]

Good stuff guys... thanks

 

[igloo]

Often times you will hear someone say [ fair to midland ] .The term comes from old cotton trading lingo aka mid grade cotton , not the weather .

 

[thecigarsoldier]

My summer saying here in the tropical Midwest is, "Hotter than two mice f#cking in a wool sock." But I've never heard the brass monkey references. Good stuff.

 

[pstlpkr]

I was watching the History Channel last night.

While in a gold mine, they showed a "thunder pot", a small cart/box with a hole on top and wheels to run on rails that was used as a port-a-potty. Its name is obvious, but what I found interesting is a further reference.

Prior to using the "thunder pot" the miners carried and would place a small length of chain under the wheels to keep it from rolling or being moved by practical jokers while one is seated. If the chain was removed it would make a noise and the user could jump off. The attempted removal of the chain prompted that immortal question: "Are you pulling my chain?"

 

[python]

Interesting stuff guys.
Cortez, that bit about Perique is very interesting.

Is it true or are you pulling our legs? I could find nothing about the info that you posted, except that Chenet is credited with inventing it

 

[pstlpkr]

"Pecker, or more fully, "pecker head", is a slang term for an electric motor terminal connection box."

Oh that God!.... I was beginning to think that was my name.

 

[unclearthur]

Till I was 13 I thought my name was "Hey getcher assinhere "

 

[pstlpkr]

"But Dad...He's Damit!, I'm Jesus Christ!"

Bill Cosby

 

[dudleydipstick]

There's a Russian etymologist named Marina Orlova that has a video series about word and phrase origins. It's called "Hot for Words". I subscribe to it with my RSS reader, but you can subscribe through Youtube. She was a high school teacher in Russia, and I bet a lot of boys (and maybe girls) miss her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ED-1WRjts&feature=channel

 

[jonesing]

Flabbergasted indeed.
F words are fun.
How about "fanny pack"? It doesn't go on your fanny. Shouldn't it be called a package pack instead?

 

[pstlpkr]

Very cool Dudley,

 

[dudleydipstick]

F words are fun.

A long time ago, a friend of mine commented on someone's section of pelvic fat as a "front-butt". You know, that slab that gets big enough to divide itself (_l_).
To this day, sometimes when I see someone out in public with one, I think to myself...
You put your front-butt in, you put your front-butt out, you put your front-butt in, and you shake it all about.

 

[unclearthur]

BUT!!! What if the hokey pokey IS what it's all about ??

 

[cortezattic]

Somehow I missed Bob's question from an old thread

Cortez, that bit about Perique is very interesting.

Is it true or are you pulling our legs? I could find nothing about the info that you posted, except that Chenet

is credited with inventing it

I got the basic info from Carl Ehwa's book, "All About Pipes and Tobacco"; and I checked Webster's dictionary for

Perique's etymology. I couldn't find an online reference to link to, but here's a scan of the dictionary entry: