"Slide down my cellar door" --> "most beautiful word" myth?

W Brewer brewerwa at GMAIL.COM
Mon Mar 17 19:39:59 UTC 2014


LH:  <<But which came first, the Bilco door or the (Sgt.) Bilko < Bulkhead
door?>>
WB:  When did you first hear of [BILKO DORE]? Before the heyday of Ernie
Bilko ('55-'59), during or after? Because, according to their website, <<The
Bilco Company has served the building industry since 1926.>> <
http://www.bilco.com/foundations/store/storepage.asp?page=aboutus>
If <Bilco> was the original 1926 name (? from <BUILDing + COmpany), then
the company logo would have preceded tv's Sgt Bilko 1955-1959.
WB associates <Sgt Bilko> with <bilk> (to cheat, 16th c.), but he is such
an iconic, lovable con-artist. The <Sgt Bilko> cachet evidently outweighs
the malodor of <bilk> for the <Bilco Company> to continue using such a
trade name.
More curious and more curious.

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