Monday, September 8, 2008

Willow's Weekly Word

Did you notice that Sarah Palin used the word haberdasher to
describe Harry Truman in her speech last week? No, it wasn't a
disparaging remark. It simply means that he was a former dealer
in men's clothing and accessories. A possible spurious origin of the
word comes from the German phrase Ich habe das, meaning
I have that. This alluded to a haberdashery having whatever a
gentleman needed to wear. Saint Louis IX, the King of France
1226-1270, is the patron saint of haberdashers. So, there you
have it.

Notable sometime haberdashers:

Robert Ask - a philanthropist
Captain James Cook - 18th century British explorer
John Graun - one of the first demographers
Joseph Merrick - the Elephant Man, worked as a haberdasher
before being a freak show act
Paavo Nurmi - legendary Finnish distance runner
Harry S. Truman - the American President (1945-53)
Johnny Carson - of The Tonight Show
Wayne Knight - actor, most famous role: Newman,
Seinfeld
Christopher Lloyd - actor, Dr. Emmett Brown, Back to the Future
George Newnes - founder of the Tit-Bits newspaper (1881)
and the popular The Strand Magazine, of Sherlock Holmes fame


~~~photo: Ralph Fiennes in The Avengers~~~

22 comments:

  1. I had heard this word used to describe Harry Truman when I lived in Kansas City and worked downtown near his old haberdashery store.

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  2. I didn't know that! But I did know what 'Ich habe das' meant from high school German classes!

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  3. Willow you make the ordinary... extraordinary. I love this post and the list is the icing on the cake!

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  4. Johnny Carson, of course! The way he pulled his cuffs, that should have been a hint. ;-)

    In German, the TV series "The Avengers" was called "Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone", i.e. "With Umbrella, Charme, and Bowler Hat" ("Charme" meaning seductive charm).

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  5. Yes, we could have guessed Johnny Carson, couldn't we?! He always looked SO put together and dashing. Now, Wayne Kight...he's another story...I never would have guessed.

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  6. this is just a fun word to say even if I didn't know what it meant - oh, and I've tagged you over on my blog - only if you wish!

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  7. Ah, haberdasher is a great word! I love that Saint Louis is the patron saint of haberdashers. Now THAT is something I didn't know! ;)

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  8. Brilliant! Lovely picture and informative post!

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  9. Yeahhh! That is so groovy! I'm going to start using that word mor often... ummm .. wel.. I don't think that I have ever said it!

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  10. Ah .. I wonder what word the amazing Mrs Palin will use next week ... I hope W's speech writers can give her a new word each week ... meeeeeeeoooooow .. ahem, I will try and be less elitist ...

    :-:-Daryl

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  11. Hello !

    In France, we don't no this ! ????

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  12. Love that word, Willow! It always reminds me of title song from the Brit com, Are you being served? Great post and I love the picture of Ralph Fiennes, too...How dapper!

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  13. Thank you for clearing that up.Willow go to my blog and read.Hugs Marie antionette

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  14. Very interesting! Love the photo of Ralph Fiennes! :D

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  15. Ooooo la la... there is something so fine about a nicely groomed and tailored man!

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  16. I TOTALLY agree!! And "ooo la la" is a perfect description. :D

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  17. thank you for the chuckles :^) the idea of johnny carson selling hats....

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  18. Haberdasher, now there's a word you don;t hear every day.

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  19. Love these tid-bitty posts!

    Also included on your list could be William Powell, known as the best-dressed man in Hollywood, and before him, Adolph Menjou.

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  20. Once again--interesting, Willow! Makes sense, too.

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  21. Love the "Bat Masterson" hat!!! I need one of those.

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  22. I have a haberdasher's near where I live here in London and they still call it that way! Most shops here in GB just use 'men's clothes' in their signs. I love this section.

    Greetings from London.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)