[Ads-l] Reflections/query on the term "glove compartment" (of a car)

[W Brewer]

WB's WAG:  Glove box > glove compartment ?
In the beginning, a motoring pioneer needed a handy storage space in his
motor car. He grabbed his wife's box (NPI*) she used for storing her gloves
from her closet, and jury-rigged a solution for a small tool-storage space.
And the original name stuck. Later, Henry Ford (or whoever) replaced <box>
with <compartment> for decorum's sake.

*No Pun Intended (altho I am reminded of the Dolly Madison Wooden Vagina
story .)

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