Pink
Bob from Traverse City
asked about the pinking in pinking shears. Pinking shears are scissors with a
serrated cutting edge. A zigzag edge on fabric is less likely to fray than a
straight cut. The Oxford English
Dictionary declares the origin unknown, but it hedges its bet by suggesting
that the verb pink may represent the sound made by punching decorative holes or
cutting slits in fabric to display a contrasting lining or undergarment.
Another word derived
from pink is pinkie, the little finger. It seems to have drifted into Scots
from a Dutch word meaning tiny.
Then there’s “in the
pink,” meaning in great good health. The word shows up in Shakespeare’s Romeo
and Juliet (“I am the pink of curtesie"), but at that time it meant the epitome
of something, the very height.
Finally, there are pink
collar crimes – embezzlement by women who are bookkeepers or accountants for
small businesses. This is in contrast to white collar crimes, usually committed
by men.
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also find some podcasts there under TheRon Jolly Show.
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