Etymology of "wacko"

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Chick" did not have wide currency in 1914 as a slang word for "young woman,"so "Chico" was probably not named because he liked the chicks.

  Now, "Zeppo" !  He loved those Zeppelins.

  JL

Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Benjamin Zimmer
Subject: Re: Etymology of "wacko"
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On 1/30/06, Baker, John 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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