WEEKLY WHINE

Stump Edvard etymologically

Who amongst us isn't filled with a sensation of Huh? What? when we receive word of another opportunity to stump "Dynamite Eating" Edvard van de Kamp? For those of you who have deactivated your brains or are otherwise unfamiliar with Edvard:

• Don't Try This At Home, SUN 11 JUN 2000
• Don't Let Them Confuse You, SUN 01 APR 2001
• On Tour with Edvard, SUN 08 APR 2001
• The Life and Times of Edvard, SUN 27 MAY 2001
• Stump Edvard, SUN 29 JUL 2001
• Stump Edvard About 2002, SUN 06 JAN 2002
• FIFA Showdown: Stump Edvard, SUN 21 APR 2002

We've taken your questions about word origins this week, and now that Edvard is back with us, he's going to read them and take them on. Who amongst you turned in the best chance to Stump Edvard?

Dear Edvard: Who were the first people to "spy" on one another? - Manuel Aprovecha, Zaragoza, Spain

Dear Lydia: Based upon the origins of the word "spy", it would evidently be the early Germanic tribes, who donated the word espier to Old French, which then made its way into England. These tribes are also credited with formulating the basic plot of every Mission: Impossible episode.

Dear Edvard: If "Elizabethan" England was during Queen Elizabeth I's reign, and "Victorian" England was during Queen Victoria I's reign, what do you call Queen Elizabeth II's reign? - Lydia Duchernon, Wimbledon, England, UK

Dear Lydia: I call it "now".

Dear Edvard: No, I mean, does it have an adjective? - Lydia Duchernon, Wimbledon, England, UK

Dear Lydia: I'm just messing with you. The word you're looking for is "Elizabeththesecondan".

Dear Edvard: Who first started using the word "refulgent"? - Patrick Burtrennde, Fort Wayne, IN, USA

Dear Patrick: The word "refulgent", meaning "really bright", has existed since the Latin refulgere, meaning "to shine brightly". However, nobody ever used it until you did just now. Nice work. If it wasn't for people like you, English wouldn't have millions of words.

Dear Edvard: Why do Americans always call football "soccer", anyway? - Chester Morgan, Brighton, England, UK

Dear Chester: Because they're dumb.

Dear Edvard: Maybe you can settle a dispute. I think the word "tit" became dirty before the word "breast". My second cousin's uncle's shadow's doorman disagrees. What's the answer? - Linda Fïllar, Stockholm, Sweden

Dear Linda: The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary agree that the word "breast" is not dirty at all. Therefore, "tit" pre-dirtifies "breast". However, if Jesse Helms had his way, all words down to and including "parking lot" would be dirty.