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| Gordon Bennett! Who was he? | Gordon Bennett! Who was he? |
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| By Kate Carter | By Kate Carter |
| James Gordon Bennett (right) and his playboy son, Gordon BennettThe English language is the most widely taught and understood in the world, yet the origins of many of its words and phrases remain a mystery. Now word sleuths are hoping to employ the public's experience to help explain some common words. | James Gordon Bennett (right) and his playboy son, Gordon BennettThe English language is the most widely taught and understood in the world, yet the origins of many of its words and phrases remain a mystery. Now word sleuths are hoping to employ the public's experience to help explain some common words. |
| It's not an epitaph one would wish for - to become the physical embodiment of a swear word. But how else do you explain Gordon Bennett, the expression of surprise that, in lewder company, would take four-letter form? | It's not an epitaph one would wish for - to become the physical embodiment of a swear word. But how else do you explain Gordon Bennett, the expression of surprise that, in lewder company, would take four-letter form? |
| But who was the original Gordon Bennett, and how did he come to be immortalised in the English language? | But who was the original Gordon Bennett, and how did he come to be immortalised in the English language? |
| No one knows for sure, which is why the country's leading language experts are consulting the public on the origins of this and dozens of other vexing words and phrases, | No one knows for sure, which is why the country's leading language experts are consulting the public on the origins of this and dozens of other vexing words and phrases, |
| In tracking the origins of Gordon Bennett, these - to employ the parlance of a notable linguistic conjurer of our times - are the known unknowns: | In tracking the origins of Gordon Bennett, these - to employ the parlance of a notable linguistic conjurer of our times - are the known unknowns: |
| • There were two famous Gordon Bennetts who might have been the source - a father and son | |
| • James Gordon Bennett Snr was a Scottish-born journalist, famous in the US for founding the New York Herald and conducting the first ever newspaper interview | |
| • His son, of the same name, was more interested in fast cars, planes and women. He used his inheritance to sponsor the Bennett Trophy in motor racing from 1900 to 1905, and in 1906 established a hot-air balloon race that is still held today. In fact, Gordon Bennett Jnr was probably the first international playboy | |
| Nora Batty: The original Flaming Nora... unlikely | |
| But there's one big hitch - there is no evidence to link the phrase "Gordon Bennett" with either man. Indeed, the first time the expression appears in print in the Oxford English Dictionary is in 1967, a long time after their heyday. | |
| Gordon Bennett, along with his sisters Flaming Nora and Bleeding Adam, are just three of a large number of eponyms - a person whose name becomes a synonym for something - in the English language. | Gordon Bennett, along with his sisters Flaming Nora and Bleeding Adam, are just three of a large number of eponyms - a person whose name becomes a synonym for something - in the English language. |
| Many are mysteries, and as with all etymological detective work, there are a legion of theories - from the plausible to the downright ludicrous. | Many are mysteries, and as with all etymological detective work, there are a legion of theories - from the plausible to the downright ludicrous. |
| Sadly, perhaps, the Gordon Bennett who became enshrined in the English language, might never have existed, says John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. "The expression is probably just a euphemistic extension of 'God!' or 'Gawd!', turned into a proper name to weaken the swear-word." | Sadly, perhaps, the Gordon Bennett who became enshrined in the English language, might never have existed, says John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. "The expression is probably just a euphemistic extension of 'God!' or 'Gawd!', turned into a proper name to weaken the swear-word." |
| Eponyms often present a particularly slippery challenge for word sleuths, says Mr Simpson, who cites "Taking the Mickey" as another good example. | Eponyms often present a particularly slippery challenge for word sleuths, says Mr Simpson, who cites "Taking the Mickey" as another good example. |
| "There doesn't have to be a specific person behind a phrase. 'Mickey' here is probably being used to represent a type of person, rather than as a specific name." | "There doesn't have to be a specific person behind a phrase. 'Mickey' here is probably being used to represent a type of person, rather than as a specific name." |
| The origin of words can be found tucked away in football fanzines, LPs, school newspapers - the sort of sources we can't easily get our hands on John Simpson, chief editor OED However the OED, along with the Penguin English Dictionary and Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable, speculate it may be a shortened form of the rhyming slang "Mickey Bliss", which in turn alludes to the deflating of a person, as a bladder deflates when emptying. | The origin of words can be found tucked away in football fanzines, LPs, school newspapers - the sort of sources we can't easily get our hands on John Simpson, chief editor OED However the OED, along with the Penguin English Dictionary and Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable, speculate it may be a shortened form of the rhyming slang "Mickey Bliss", which in turn alludes to the deflating of a person, as a bladder deflates when emptying. |
| The OED bills itself as the "definitive record of the English language", and aims to find the earliest verifiable usage of every single word within it. That's currently 600,000 words and counting, so it's not surprising that it has a longstanding tradition of turning to the public for help. | The OED bills itself as the "definitive record of the English language", and aims to find the earliest verifiable usage of every single word within it. That's currently 600,000 words and counting, so it's not surprising that it has a longstanding tradition of turning to the public for help. |
| In the lead up to the new series of BBC Two's Balderdash and Piffle, lexicographers at the OED are staging their second so-called Wordhunt - asking for the public's help in tracing the history of 40 well-known words and phrases. The results will feature in the BBC show when it returns in the spring. | In the lead up to the new series of BBC Two's Balderdash and Piffle, lexicographers at the OED are staging their second so-called Wordhunt - asking for the public's help in tracing the history of 40 well-known words and phrases. The results will feature in the BBC show when it returns in the spring. |
| To help, amateur word sleuths must find an earlier example of one of the 40 words and phrases, although this doesn't have to be in a book. | To help, amateur word sleuths must find an earlier example of one of the 40 words and phrases, although this doesn't have to be in a book. |
| "Wordhunters made some remarkable discoveries in the last series," says Mr Simpson. "They found evidence tucked away in football fanzines, LPs, school newspapers: just the sort of sources we can't easily get our hands on." | "Wordhunters made some remarkable discoveries in the last series," says Mr Simpson. "They found evidence tucked away in football fanzines, LPs, school newspapers: just the sort of sources we can't easily get our hands on." |
| Other sources worth checking would be unpublished papers, letters and post-marked postcards. Words like "identity theft", also on the Wordhunt list, might well first have appeared online. | Other sources worth checking would be unpublished papers, letters and post-marked postcards. Words like "identity theft", also on the Wordhunt list, might well first have appeared online. |
| From diary to dictionaryEnlarge Image It doesn't matter what the source is - as long as it can be dated. One of the best examples of unorthodox evidence came from last year's Wordhunt, when one amateur Wordhunter thought she remembered commenting "phwoar" of her gym teacher's legs when she was at school. | From diary to dictionaryEnlarge Image It doesn't matter what the source is - as long as it can be dated. One of the best examples of unorthodox evidence came from last year's Wordhunt, when one amateur Wordhunter thought she remembered commenting "phwoar" of her gym teacher's legs when she was at school. |
| Sure enough, when Michele Grange hunted through her diaries she found it written in her schoolgirl hand. The diary entry is now immortalised in the OED. | Sure enough, when Michele Grange hunted through her diaries she found it written in her schoolgirl hand. The diary entry is now immortalised in the OED. |
| As for Gordon Bennett, it remains to be seen whether the saying owes itself to a real person. | As for Gordon Bennett, it remains to be seen whether the saying owes itself to a real person. |
| As for Gordon Bennett Jnr, son of the newspaper magnate, he certainly holds one honour - holder of the Guinness Book of Records entry for "Greatest Engagement Faux Pas". One very drunken evening he turned up late to a posh party held by his future in-laws, and ended up urinating into a fireplace in full view of everyone. The engagement, unsurprisingly, was broken off, and Mr Bennett left New York to pursue his playboy habits in Paris. | As for Gordon Bennett Jnr, son of the newspaper magnate, he certainly holds one honour - holder of the Guinness Book of Records entry for "Greatest Engagement Faux Pas". One very drunken evening he turned up late to a posh party held by his future in-laws, and ended up urinating into a fireplace in full view of everyone. The engagement, unsurprisingly, was broken off, and Mr Bennett left New York to pursue his playboy habits in Paris. |
To see the full Wordhunt list, go to the Balderdash and Piffle website (see internet links, above, right) or email your evidence to balderdash@bbc.co.uk. Otherwise add your comments to this story using the form below. | To see the full Wordhunt list, go to the Balderdash and Piffle website (see internet links, above, right) or email your evidence to balderdash@bbc.co.uk. Otherwise add your comments to this story using the form below. |