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Where does the phrase worry wort come from? Of course I could look this up, but then we couldn't share.  | ||
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Related to worry beads and fuss budget? —Ceci n'est pas un seing. | |||
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It's worry wart, right? Here's what etymology.com says: "Worry wart first recorded 1956, from comic strip 'Out Our Way' by U.S. cartoonist J.R. Williams (1888-1957). According to those familiar with the strip, Worry Wart was the name of a character who caused others to worry, which is the inverse of the current colloq. meaning." | |||
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The OED Online's first citation for worry wart was from 1956:
It doesn't list worry wort. It does, however, list worryguts:
New Words in English, lists worrywort:
It's interesting in that it spells it worrywort, but in the souce given it says worrywarts. Seems like there's a mistake somewhere. The Rice University Neologisms Database has the same entry. Someone else asked this on another forum, and JGF replied on November 11, 2002: "Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary dates it to 1936, but doesn't provide an origin." Tinman March 04 - corrected spelling typoThis message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman, | |||
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quote: etymology.com says: "Worry wart first recorded 1956 quote: The OED Online's first citation for worry wart was from 1956 Well, Google NewsArchive lists 1,320 pre-1956 usages, though many use it to name the comic character. The all-caps cites are probably the comic strip inself. On scan, though, a 1943 blurb seems on point: "Sho had never known Jim was a worry wart, and now she was flaming with disappointment and New Orleans." Edit: back to 1939: "For Heaven's sake, Jan, don't you turn into worry wart." | |||
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I went to the link you sent, Shufitz, and narrowed the search dates to 1990-1937, then to 1900-1934, and so on till I came up with this from Sep 20, 1930:
It's a subscription service, so I couldn't access it, but I could access one from May. 13, 1940:
Tinman Oct. 17, 2007 - updated link to Cowboy CartoonistThis message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman, | |||
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Hmmm, another error in the OED. That last quote of yours, Tinman, has one of my favorite words: blowzy | |||
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When brewers express preocupation and anxiety about the outcome of the fermentation process are they becoming worry worts? FWIW | |||
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I wonder if it has anything to do with St John's wort, which alleviates stress (worry) | |||
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Hello, hello!  The word/phrase seems to have been "worry WART" at first. However, purely as a guess, possibly because of people's connections with St John's Wort, it has often become "worry WORT". Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Welcome, hello! I tried to find out something online about the origin of St. John's Wort, but I couldn't find much. | |||
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