Question: There's been a popular song on the radio that uses the term "zoot suit." What exactly is a "zoot suit"?Answer:It was a suit worn by hipsters in the 1940s. A flashy suit of extreme cut, it usually included a thigh-length jacket, wide padded shoulders and pant legs that narrowed, with narrow cuffs. Zoot suits were often worn in wild colors and accessorized with broad-brimmed hats and long gold watch chains.
The flashiness of the suit contrasted with the sober reality of the uniforms being worn by soldiers, and though it was glorified in the popular music of the day as the height of hipness, it was declared by some individuals and groups (including the War Production Board) as unpatriotic. Indeed, it became a symbol of cultural division during the years of World War II.
Chicago clothing store owner Harold C. Fox is credited with coining the term "zoot suit" around 1942. As both a clothier and a musician, Fox had the opportunity to supply clothes for entertainers, especially those in the music world. His most famous wartime design was, not surprisingly, the zoot suit.
Like many jazz musicians, Fox was influenced by rhyming slang. In naming his creation, he sought a word to rhyme with "suit." He chose "zoot" because it begins with the last letter of the alphabet and symbolizes the fact that the zoot suit was the "living end" among musicians and many non-musicians as well. It became popular when it was worn by the likes of jazz great Cab Calloway.
Question: I am interested in words that end in "-onym." Sometimes it seems to have to do with a name, and sometimes not. What exactly does "-onym" mean?
Answer: As defined in Merriam-Webster's "Collegiate Dictionary," Tenth Edition, the combining form "-onym" means "name" or "word." It comes ultimately from the Greek word "onyma," meaning "name."
As you might expect, any word ending in "-onym" has something to do with names or words. There are more than 30 words in English that have this ending. Some are very familiar to us, like "synonym," which seems to be the oldest such word in English.
Others are "antonym," "acronym" and "pseudonym." Some words on the "-onym" list are not so familiar. A "caconym," for example, is a scientific name in biology that is objectionable for linguistic reasons. A "cryptonym" is a secret name. A "toponym" is a place name. And the list goes on. At least one word ending in "-onym" can describe a person instead of a name. An "anonym" (formed from the same roots as "anonymous") is a person who retains anonymity or whose name in unknown.
Question: I've always believed that one shouldn't use the word "as" to mean "because" but I often hear the word used this way. Am I right in thinking that this is an error?
Answer: Merriam-Webster's "Dictionary of English Usage" points out that the use of "as" to mean "because" is standard English: It has been in use for nearly 600 years and can easily be found in the works of such literary figures as Jane Austen, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry Adams. Since our aim is to represent words as they are really used by English speakers and writers, we include this sense of "as" in our dictionaries.
It is true, however, that some commentators on usage and style have denigrated the "because" sense of "as" as ambiguous. A made-up sentence like "As I was planning a trip to Paris, I took a crash course in French" may leave doubt as to whether the person took the crash course while planning the trip or because of the planned trip.
Evidence shows, however, that in actual use, "as" is no more ambiguous than "because"; the surrounding context always makes clear which meaning of "as" is intended. "Since" has the same potential for ambiguity but in actual writing is seldom a problem either. Nevertheless, people do tend to prefer "because" or "since" to "as" as a conjunction showing cause.
This column was prepared by the editors of Merriam-Webster's "Collegiate Dictionary," Tenth Edition. Send questions to: Merriam-Webster's Wordwatch, P.O. Box 281, 47 Federal St., Springfield, MA 01102.) 1999 Merriam-Webster Inc., Dist. by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service