Let's Play Ball!
Revisit our Roots & Routes 2003 Special Feature.
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Let's Play Ball!Revisit our Roots & Routes 2003 Special Feature. |
"YANKEE DOODLES"
"Way back when" New England children learning to write spent long hours copying
letters and flourishes from special exercise books. Sometimes they decorated
the margins of their homework with what we now call "doodles"—so Yankee
Doodle has a double meaning. In other words, it's a pun. Some people hate
puns—others think they're fun. If you like them, get a (down)load
of these…gathered by Mark Samwick at the Pun FAQtory.
By the way, can you guess where the word "doodle" came from?
ANSWER:
According to Webster's New
World Dictionary, doodle comes from a Greek word "dudeln," which meant "to play
the bagpipe, hence to trifle." Some people doodle around on the piano…some people
"scribble or draw aimlessly, especially when the attention is elsewhere…" Both
are called (obviously) "doodlers." If you send us some of your doodles we'll
put them up here.
Meanwhile...sharpen your quill (and your mind) on some vintage puzzlers.
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