Etymology of "wacko"

[Baker, John]

        Well, both Groucho and Harpo said in later recollections that
Chico did indeed get his nickname because he liked the chicks.  I see
from HDAS that "chick" had been in use in this sense (at least to some
extent) since at least 1899, so I don't see any good reason to doubt
them.  They also referred to Chico as a "chicken chaser," a term that
seems to have had some success (11,700 Google hits) but is not in HDAS.
There apparently was a 1914 Fatty Arbuckle short, now lost, called The
Chicken Chaser.

John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Jonathan Lighter
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 7:25 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Etymology of "wacko"

"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

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