Friday, October 24, 2008

Willow's Weekly Word

Since I used the term the willies in my post yesterday, I began to
wonder about its etymology. Believe it or not, it has nothing to do
with this Willie! I came up with two explanations and I believe the
second one to make more sense. The first one I found was traced
back to 1896, which was a spell of nervousness perhaps from the
"woollies", a dialectal term for nervous uneasiness, probably in
reference to the itchiness of wool clothing. Well, maybe. But I like this
explanation better. The "willies" in the ballet Giselle take their name
from the Serbo-Croation word "vila" (in English wili or willi) meaning
a wood-nymph or fairy, usually the spirit of a betrothed girl who
died after being jilted by her lover. This seems more logical that a
willi, the spirit or ghost, over time became "the willies", or the feeling
of something creepy. So, there you have it, my bloggy friends! What
gives you the willies this time of year?
.

40 comments:

  1. REDRUM, REDRUM... gives me the willies.

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  2. Good question ... and once I clicked on comments I couldnt think of a thing ....

    Lacking a comment gives me the willies

    :-Daryl

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  3. THAT movie gives me the willies! The book is even scarier!

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  4. The willies...well, let's see...spiders, the feeling I'm being watched when I'm home alone, and those unexplained sounds in our house which are still happening! OK...now I'm scared! :P

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  5. PS...love the new "Manor Events" :)

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  6. Creepy post, I must admit (nothing to do with you, Mr Nelson). Especially the last caption. 'Here's Johnny' (if you could see me now trying to join my eyebrows together!)

    As usual, a most mind-opening etymological exegesis.

    Greetings from London.

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  7. Nice young ladies on the photo, and a great man on the first one...
    Your text is cute, but some movies, like Dracula, or Your recipes with arsenic, give me "chocottes", in french...
    See You later, Lady Willow...

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  8. I've been baking up a nice batch of your favorite arsenic cookies to mail to you in France, Web! :^)

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  9. Willie's hair gives me the willies.
    I always think long, unkempt hair is harboring germs and bugs and bats and so on.
    I hate hair not attached to heads.
    Victorian mourning jewelry scares me to bits.
    Billy Bob Thornton hates red velvet sofas.......a rather agree unless brand new.

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  10. My boys coming home from school with LICE yesterday gave me the willies.... Yucccccccccccckkkkkkkkkk!

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  11. Robins and sparrows, blues and jays - I have to say I have not heard that before.

    Interesting - my Grandmother would say "it gives me the willies" I sort of knew what she meant but not literally as i guess neither did she.

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  12. Because I can to Halloween from a more celtic/pagan philosophy, nothing gives me the willies. I do get peeved with how sadistic violence has become associated with what is actually a warm and comforting holiday.

    On the 31st I set up a candle for each of my loved ones who has passed, and I thank them for their life, their help and guidance.

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  13. A unexpected creepy spot in a new film where the music hasn't forewarned the viewer.

    The Shining was an excellent scary movie.

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  14. Very informative young lady. Interestingly I was always told that 'the willies' were a kind of Scottish faerie so the Giselle reference sounds about right. Of course, for us Brits, it's also the source of endless schoolboy humour as 'willy' is a very common term for the male ... er ... appendage.

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  15. Willie Nelson's hair didn't bother me, but I do want to slather some lotion on that dry looking face! ha!

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  16. I never out grew the willies about: What is under the sink? I have managed over the years to talk someone into cleaning or organizing cleaning products under the sink area...really creeps me out....dark, pipes, damp??!!!

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  17. Those 3 o'clock in the morning questions give me the willies...

    Why do the holes in a cat's fur always come where the eyes are?

    Whoever saw a sea cucumber pootling along in a rock pool and thought: "by gum, I'll bet that's tasty!"

    and

    If God really thought it would be a good idea to have those things dangling there, why didn't he think to armour-plate them beforehand?

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  18. Oh! Willow my dear friend, yours are such polite and informative terms for the word Willies. Back here some still live in the dark-ages, and I would surely blush to explain!!!!!!

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  19. Definitely the photo of the two girls gives me the willies...yikes!


    Always love reading the definitions...

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  20. Willow,
    It's better a giver than receiver be of the "willies."

    Snakes cause me to shiver. Is that like the willies?

    Your header is awesome!
    rel

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  21. hello again, wanted you to know my new blog is now on and I would like to feature you on...nothing like you've ever seen on blogger, I hope...or what do you think?

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  22. Yeah! Thanks for that Willow! Those girls definitely are right at the top of my list, especially when the tidal-wave of blood comes rushing down the hall.

    As for the real world, the prospect of Christmas commercials on television gives me the willies! (Just kidding).

    Watch "The Wicker Man" (original) and see if you don't get the Willies from that.

    Great post.

    Kat

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  23. Kat, I saw the original "The Wicker Man" not too long ago for the first time. It has to be the strangest movie ever. Willies!!!

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  24. As always, very interesting.

    Spiders are certainly up there, but in terms of this time of the year, I really don't like to see evil looking masks or dripping blood. I'm not in to the macarbre.

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  25. Spiders (especially the hairy ones) gives me the willies! And ghosts! Your manor ghosts would freak me out and keep me up at night! ;P

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  26. That movie gave me the willies too....I think it may have something to do with the fact that my Dad's a writer....

    C x

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  27. I guess all the election craziness is starting to give me the willies! LOL I'll be glad when it's all over. Interesting, as always!

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  28. Oh my gosh I can't believe you posted that picture! Now, that gave me the willies just remembering that old hotel.

    Good post! I like the second explanation better, too.

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  29. Fun explanation. Gee....that picture of Willie Nelson gives me the creeps! It looks like he was rode hard and put away wet!!! (Now there is a saying for you to research!!) Have a good weekend.

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  30. I saw a spider in a closet once - it was so big I could hear it walk! Sounded like a tapdance. That gave me the willies and the heebie jeebies and the booga loogas. REDRUM!

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  31. Those kids from the Shining, THEY give me the willies. Yet, I love that movie!

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  32. Just finished reading "The Willies" by Billy Collins in his book Questions About Angels!

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  33. Blue Sky, guess what I had ready to go for my next post?!! I love Billy Collins! We're on the same wave lenth.

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  34. I Just Got the willies triple time last night-I Put my little dog outside at 2 o'clock in the morning,we live in the country so there is no street lights whatsoever-I had my flashlight and was shining it on him but then decided to shine the flashlight towards the fields well,I didn't expect red eyes to be starring back at me-Hubby said it was a deer-I say it was The Mothman-after watching the movie several months ago I have been looking for him in our back yard-Yes that movie gives me HUGE willies!!!

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  35. With the heat of Summer come the flying cockroaches. Oh boy I'm shuddering right this minute at the thought. Though I have to admit I havn't seen one in over a year.

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  36. The dead squirrel that I recently found in my yard definitely gave me the willies. At first I thought it was just a fuzzy stick! Then it quickly dawned on me that it was a very stiff and dead squirrel. I ran away as quickly as I could!

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  37. Unexpectedly falling into a past life experience in an historic ruin where you least expect something terrible to have occured certainly has given me not only the willies but the heeby jeebies as well. DH came running because he felt I was in deep distress...I could not utter a sound for some time.

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  38. No one gives me willies worse than Sarah Palin. Right now reality is a little scarier than I'd like it to be!

    Great fun post. I will look at willies completely differently now.

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  39. I'm actually surprised that more didn't mention her!

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