New acronymic revelations

[Jonathan Lighter]

While discussing the estimated $77,000 worth of promotional souvenirs to be awarded to each Oscar nominee just for showing up, Fox news ace Bill McCuddy observed a few minutes back that these luxury products are called "swag": "That's 'Stuff We Always Get.'"

  Sure, Bill. And it couldn't possibly have anything to do with "swag," meaning "loot," well-known to readers of heist novels for decades.  (On second thought, that "swag" could stand for "Stuff We Always Get," too. Who's to say ? I mean, it's all opinion, right ?)

  Interestingly, there are no Google Newsgroup hits for "swag + 'stuff we always get,'" but a few examples of the related folk-ety "stuff we all get" show up as far back as '96. You can also find "shit we all get" (but not "always get") if you Google for it.

  If a more highbrow origin is your cup of tea, you may wish to believe in "Sundries, Wearables and Gifts (or Giveaways)," noted by Wikipedia.

  "Swag" in this sense was originally applied, it would seem, to promotional T-shirts, baseball caps, and so forth given out to stagehands and others by the world's top-grossing musical acts.

  Some Net users insist the word is really "schwag" or "shwag," for which no retroderivation has been devised. BOring !

  JL


---------------------------------
Yahoo! Mail
Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail  makes sharing a breeze.

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