Suppose you were walking along the street of a European town in the year 1650. Suddenly, someone yells, “Gardyloo!” Then, you’d better duck, fast. Gardyloo was a warning that somebody was just about to tip a bucket of something pretty awful and foul-smelling out of an upstairs window onto the street.
Words are like people–they have interesting backgrounds. Gardyloo hails from France and was probably heard a lot in those long ago days before sanitation was considered important.
But, hey! That’d be a useful word today. I think we should revive it. Lots is being written or spoken that is just plain garbage. What fun to pronounce an opinion of what we hear or read with one simple French word, “Gardyloo!”
Words. They are interesting things. Their origins are interesting and the reasons they existed were interesting. I like gardyloo. It’s pretty descriptive.
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