Wad
As a Michigan
Commissioner of Services to the Aging, it was my privilege, on behalf of the
Commission, to designate the Village of Bellaire as a Community for a Lifetime
(i.e., elder-friendly). In explaining the significance of the award, Dan
Dozema, field representative of the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging,
referred to the “wads of paper” that were required to complete the required
survey.
A wad originally meant a
bundle of hay, straw, or vegetables made at the time of reaping. It expanded to
mean a heap or a sheath of any vegetative matter. From there, it turned into a
small bundle of a soft, flexible material for use as a plug or a pad. In
America, it was used to describe something rolled up tightly, as a roll of bank
notes. To blow your wad (the non-obscene version) meant to lose all your money,
probably at gambling.
A wad was also material
composed of matted fibers of silk, raw cotton, and so on. A plug or tampon of
cloth, felt, or cardboard was used to hold powder and shot in place when loading
a gun. This led to “shooting one’s wad”—firing a gun—which then expanded to
mean doing everything possible, giving one’s all.
Available from McFarland & Co.: Word Parts
Dictionary, 2nd edition
Nook edition
Nook edition
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