Etymology of "wacko"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 1/30/06, Baker, John <JMB at stradley.com> wrote:
>
>         Should the -o ending be considered so limited?  Think of the
> Marx Brothers, with Harpo so-called because he played a harp, Chico
> liked the chicks (it was originally Chicko, but the k was quickly
> dropped), and so forth.  There's an account of their naming in Harpo's
> autobiography, Harpo Speaks; I don't have it available, but they
> certainly took on these names well before 1935.

It's said that they got get their nicknames from comic Art Fisher
during a backstage poker game in Galesburg, Illinois on May 15, 1914.

http://www.whyaduck.com/info/grouchochron.htm
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/destinations/midwest/chi-0511200197nov20,1,3054951.story


--Ben Zimmer

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