skedaddle
There has been a great deal of controversy, which has still not been resolved, over the origin of this word, and even some of the difference of opinion as to whether it was born in England or in America. The earliest recorded use for the American skedaddle, “to flee precipitously,” that has been found is 1861—that for the English, “to spill (as milk),” is 1862, but since spilt milk has, in effect, fled abruptly, this sense may actually derive from the former. Bartlett, in his Dictionary of Americanisms (4th ed., 1877), reviewed the controversy thoroughly as of that date, and little new has been turned up since. Thus various writers claim to have traced it to the Greek skedannumi, “rout”; the Welsh ysgudaw, “to scud about”; and the Irish sgedadol, “scattered.” Others have claimed Swedish and Danish origins, but no one really knows, for sure.
Funk, Charles Earle. 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions From White Elephants to A Song & Dance.
New York, NY: Galahad Books, 1993.
the whole kit and caboodle
In its entirety, this phrase is American; it is a somewhat more refined expression than the earlier, “the whole kit and bilin’.” Both forms mean lock, stock, and barrel; the whole lot, omitting nothing. But “the whole kit” is plain English — the entire outfit; the whole lot, either of things or persons. “Bilin’,” of course, was corrupted from “boiling,” which meant a seething mass, especially of persons; so ” the whole kit and bilin’” originally meant the entire group of people and their equipment. Later it was limited to define just all the people in a group.
But along with the common expression, “the whole kit and bilin’”, there was a more refined American phrase ” the whole kit and boodle,” for “boodle” was apparently Americanized from the Dutch word boedel, property, estate, goods. And just because we like to have alliteration in our speech, someone tried to put a “k” before “boodle” giving us, “the whole kit and caboodle.” By the way, it was this same Dutch word, corrupted to “boodle” also, that was later used in a sinister sense to mean money — money acquired by graft or bribery.
Funk, Charles Earle. 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions From White Elephants to A Song & Dance.
New York, NY: Galahad Books, 1993.
Random Word Origins
skedaddle
There has been a great deal of controversy, which has still not been resolved, over the origin of this word, and even some of the difference of opinion as to whether it was born in England or in America. The earliest recorded use for the American skedaddle, “to flee precipitously,” that has been found is 1861—that for the English, “to spill (as milk),” is 1862, but since spilt milk has, in effect, fled abruptly, this sense may actually derive from the former. Bartlett, in his Dictionary of Americanisms (4th ed., 1877), reviewed the controversy thoroughly as of that date, and little new has been turned up since. Thus various writers claim to have traced it to the Greek skedannumi, “rout”; the Welsh ysgudaw, “to scud about”; and the Irish sgedadol, “scattered.” Others have claimed Swedish and Danish origins, but no one really knows, for sure.
Funk, Charles Earle. 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions From White Elephants to A Song & Dance.
New York, NY: Galahad Books, 1993.
the whole kit and caboodle
In its entirety, this phrase is American; it is a somewhat more refined expression than the earlier, “the whole kit and bilin’.” Both forms mean lock, stock, and barrel; the whole lot, omitting nothing. But “the whole kit” is plain English — the entire outfit; the whole lot, either of things or persons. “Bilin’,” of course, was corrupted from “boiling,” which meant a seething mass, especially of persons; so ” the whole kit and bilin’” originally meant the entire group of people and their equipment. Later it was limited to define just all the people in a group.
But along with the common expression, “the whole kit and bilin’”, there was a more refined American phrase ” the whole kit and boodle,” for “boodle” was apparently Americanized from the Dutch word boedel, property, estate, goods. And just because we like to have alliteration in our speech, someone tried to put a “k” before “boodle” giving us, “the whole kit and caboodle.” By the way, it was this same Dutch word, corrupted to “boodle” also, that was later used in a sinister sense to mean money — money acquired by graft or bribery.
Funk, Charles Earle. 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions From White Elephants to A Song & Dance.
New York, NY: Galahad Books, 1993.