[Ads-l] Wassail - a toast: "Be thou well"

[Andy Bach]

I always wondered too:
"My favorite in the Christmas canon is “Here We Come A-Wassailing,” with
its hearty chorus of “Love and joy come to you, / And to you your wassail,
too.” I never had a clear idea of what a wassail was. Sounds like something
you wave when you’re happy, as a dog its tail, and that’s about right:
“wassail” is from an Old English expression meaning “be thou well,” uttered
while holding aloft a cup of mulled wine (or ale or punch). The word came
to refer to the drink itself, and then became a verb: to go a-wassailing is
to go from house to house wishing the occupants good health and collecting
a little cash on the side, perhaps to spend on . . . wassail. It’s a
Christmas carol that doubles as a drinking song. The wassail of my choice
this year is a giant bottle of stout bottled in Wisconsin under the label
“For Whom.” All in favor of “whom” are invited to step up. Next!

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/comma-queen-a-grammarians-xmas

Rest ye merry, dialecticians!
-- 

a

Andy Bach,
afbach at gmail.com
608 658-1890 cell
608 261-5738 wk

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org