The Roots of Malarkey

I'm not one of those people who makes a hobby out of "collecting" relatives. This is partially because I'm a New World girl, but also because I'm kind of afraid of what I'll find. In fact, almost every time I've looked into my heritage, I've realized something I didn't want to know.

Yes, it's true that if you shake anyone's family tree, you're bound to come across a few criminals and con-men, but I've realized that such types make up the majority of my ancestors. It's not that I don't want to be associated with criminals and con-men, it's more that I realize that I'm attracted to alternative lifestyles. I could be an itinerant, a bard, someone without debts. Wanderlust is not a new plague, but it's one that I'm still learning to reconcile with my current life.

Long story short, I was pleased to see this article in the New York Times tonight: "Humdinger of a Project: Tracing Slang to Ireland" by Corey Kilgannon

The creation of slang is absolutely something of which I can be proud, along with the art of a good con (on television of course), and the amazing humor of the American-Irish. Really, without the Irish there would be no "dude" or "twerp", no "gimmick" or "scam". You couldn't tell someone to "scram", or laugh at your friend for reciting an event that was a load of "malarkey".

I think this is amazing, especially since I'm a word fiend. In the spirit of American-Irish slang, I'll continue to create words like ridiculawesome (with a lot of help from my friends), while pulling out the occasional, almost obsolete word like bumbershoot and using it in regular conversation. Join me and we can change the world of words!