Smug and Smuggle

A recent conversation left me wondering whether the words 'smuggle' and 'smug' were derived from the same word.

It seems that Smug came from the lower German word Smuk (16c), meaning trim, neat or spruce. This in turn became smooth and sleek which, by 18th Century had come to mean self satisfied.

Smuggle is either from the lower German work 'smuggeln' or the Dutch 'smokkelen'. I prefer 'smokkelen', especially when it's pronounced in a Dutch accent. These words both meant 'to transport goods illegally'.

Despite these different origins it is possible to argue that Smuggle and Smug are distantly related. The link could be 'smiegen' - 'to press close' - which might link furtive behaviour ('smuggeln') and clothing ('smuk').


However! (and this is my master stroke) they are both related to the word 'smock', which might now be my favourite word of the whole of the 16th century as, depending where you were in Europe it could mean:

a) a garment you creep into

b) to render a man effeminate or womanish (ha)

c) a pie base

Shmokkelen!

Famous Last Words

This is a blog about words and this picture is about last words. Very good because it looks a bit like a face.

Baader-Meinhof phenomenon

It's difficult to decide what my first post should be, but I suppose it should be the words that inspired me to start a blog. The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon 'occurs when a person, after having learned some

(usually obscure) fact, word, phrase, or other item for the first time,

encounters that item again, perhaps several times, shortly after having learned

it.' (wikipedia).

This is great, because a) I never knew there was a word for this and b) the way in which I came to know it's meaning was in itself an example of the phenomenon: First there was a book and a film (The Baader-Meinhof Complex), then I noticed people using it in blogs ('Augmented reality is this year’s Baader-Meinhof Syndrome' zzzzz) and then I looked it up. The film is named after a group of freedom fighters (of sorts), which is where the phenomenon got its name, as it was in relation to this organisation that the phenomenon was exemplified.                                       

There are two main theories which aim to explain this occurrence.                                                                   

The first says that once you are aware of, for example, 80s canadian power trio 'Rush', the brain will lend particular prominence to 'Rush' so you become more aware of their eclectic, lyrical motifs. This is called the recency effect.                                                                                                        

The second theory has to do with the psycological connection of concepts and words. If your mind can't connect a word to a concept, the mind will ignore it, sometimes even convince you that you have heard a different word. However, once the word and concept are connected (ie you find out what it means) the word will appear to gain undue prominence in everyday life.

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