flutterbys

Laurence Horn laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Thu Oct 19 20:48:52 UTC 2006


P.S.  on butter(fly)(shit):  Here's the AHD4 word history note--

Is a butterfly named for the color of its excrement or because it was
thought to steal butter? It is hard to imagine that anyone ever
noticed the color of butterfly excrement or believed the insect
capable of such theft. The first suggestion rests on the fact that an
early Dutch name for the butterfly was boterschijte. The second is
based on an old belief that the butterfly was really a larcenous
witch in disguise.

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



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