Grit

Grit--it's a word that swings both ways, functioning  both as a noun and a verb.  "To grit one's teeth" is to press them hard against each other--usually in frustration or anger.  And to have grit is to have courage, spunk.

What I didn't know is that the word, coming from  Middle English, is derived from a word for sand, or small hard particles.  And it's used in geology to describe just that.

Makes sense--grits (a common breakfast cereal in the South) is just that!  Gritty.... 

Bamboozle

For no reason at all, I thought of the word "bamboozle" this morning.  Well, I knew what it was--it's to trick or deceive someone.  But where does it come from?

Thefreedictionary.com plays it safe--origin unknown.  The Online Etymology Dictionary traces the word to 1703, and speculates that it may be from the Scottish or from the French word  embabouiner "to make a fool (lit. 'baboon') of."

I vote for the French word--making a baboon of someone is an image that could easily last three centuries!

Guzzle

"Well, you've got a gas guzzler," I told a student, who was in pain over the cost of gasoline.  And he was puzzled.  So I explained--"to guzzle" is to drink greedily, and excessively.

And where does it come from?  "Origin unknown," says thefreedictionary.com.   Probably from Old French gossilier, says the online etymology Dictionary, which traces the word to the 1570s.

So it's a mystery--like the price of gasoline!

Glower

Everybody knows what "to glow" is--but what's "to glower?"

Well, it means to look angrily or threateningly.  And curiously, the two words may be related.  According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the first usage in the mid fifteenth century is "to shine."

Anyway, the word is thought to be of Scandanavian origin--from the Norse glora.  Knowing what I know about the Norwegians, that seems a good guess!