September 07, 2009, 08:46
<Asa Lovejoy>Gouge
Of late I've found myself reading various books on financial theory. I've recently become aware of hard money advocate William M. Gouge, who opposed the non-specie practices of the Fed's predecessor, the Bank of The United States. While it seems backwards, might the term, "gouge," as applied to a financial swindle, be related to him?
September 07, 2009, 09:47
zmježd While it seems backwards, might the term, "gouge," as applied to a financial swindle, be related to him?I don't think it likely. Most associate the slang verb
gauge 'to swindle' with the noun
gauge, a type of chisel. This latter word comes via French from Late Latin which in turn possibly took it from some Celtic language. I could not find an etymology for the surname, though I did find a 17th century clergyman named William Gouge. The name could be from the tool or perhaps a variant of the surname Gooch. Slo was Gouge advocating some kind of Ponzi scheme to earn this pejorative etymology?
September 07, 2009, 10:37
<Asa Lovejoy>The most detailed account of William M. Gouge, US bank critic, that I've found thusfar is on a Libertarian website, so it's bound to be slanted towards a specific political viewpoint. Our Gouge - as opposed to the British clergyman - appears to have been a fiscal conservative who opposed the printing of paper money without precious metal to back it up. Here's more from a book review:
http://books.google.com/books?...20M.%20Gouge&f=falseSeptember 07, 2009, 10:45
zmježd Our Gouge [...] appears to have been a fiscal conservative who opposed the printing of paper money without precious metal to back it up.So, he does not seem a likely candidate for an eponymous coinage (no pun intended).
September 07, 2009, 12:32
<Proofreader>quote:
he does not seem a likely candidate for an eponymous coinage
I'd say he fits the bill