Zit...When did this word pop up?

Ha! Good pun! I'd like to add my own inquiry: does anyone in the UK use this slang for acne?

Well, I am now a little skittish about using Etymology.com because Aput says that it is often wrong. However, they say that it started in 1966 and its origin is unknown, though the OED does confirm this. Here is the earliest citation of "zit" from the OED:

"1966 G. C. SAUER Man. Skin Dis. (ed. 2) 284 Zits, term in teen-agers' vernacular for ‘pimples’ of acne. 1966 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) Summer 5 Zit, something bad or unpleasant; crude... What's that zit on your coat?"

quote:

Originally posted by Caterwauller:
does anyone in the UK use this slang for acne?

well we certainly know what it means, but usually we'd say spots... xx

Zit was always our word of choice. I might even have asked if it was common in the US. Don't you have plooks?

We had a theory that the word was ononmatopoeic.

quote:

US. Don't you have plooks?

Not that I've ever heard of. I can't even begin to make sense of this word.

Doesn't anyone say "pimple?"

I'd say pimple and zit are both pretty common. I use pimple more often that zit, and rarely use acne.

One of the advantages of growing older is that these eruptions (whatever the word used to describe them) are less frequent than in our youth.

No idea when the word came into being.
I can however tell you when I first heard it. It was when I saw John Belushi's impression of a zit in Animal House.

quote:

Originally posted by arnie:
One of the advantages of growing older is that these eruptions (whatever the word used to describe them) are less frequent than in our youth.

You and me both, Arnie:

Since 50, when middle age reared up
And grabbed me, I've seldom felt cheered up.
I've got pain in my knees
And I pee when I sneeze...
But on the plus side, my acne's all cleared up!

There are four different kinds of acne and I have written a limerick on each one, should anyone be interested. Just seach for "acne" in the database and then scroll forward through the next four pieces.

I can now say that I have probably written more limericks about acne than anyone in the world. My parents would have been so proud!

quote:

Originally posted by arnie:
One of the advantages of growing older is that these eruptions (whatever the word used to describe them) are less frequent than in our youth.

Not always!

Rosacea, commonly (but incorrectly) called adult acne, afflicts about 13 to 14 million people in the U.S., 4 to 6 million in Canada, 8 to 10 million in the U.K., and many millions more throughout the world. I suspect there are many millions more who are undiagnosed and have no idea they have this disease. Many cases are relatively mild. But some are very severe.

W.C. Fields had a bulbous, red nose, which many people think was caused by his heavy drinking. Actually, he had rhinophyma, a condition that often develops after years of suffering from rosacea. Irritated, watery, bloodshot eyes can also be caused by rosacea.

The causes of rosacea are still unknown, though there is definitely a genetic predisposition to get the disease. Rosacea generally shows up in adults between the ages of 30 and 60. More than 50% of the victims will suffer ocular rosacea. It was once thought that women were twice as likely as men to be afflicted with this disease, but some data suggests it appears to be evenly distributed between the sexes. It is also thought to afflict fair-skinned people more often than darker-skinned people, though there is no clinical evidence of this. Darker skin may mask the early symptoms of rosacea and delay diagnosis. Indeed, this may account for the failure to recognize this disease in the black population.

Sources:

Facial Rosacea: Major Symptoms of the Disorder, drnase.com, Dr. Geoffrey Nase, PhD, Rosacea Research Specialist

What is Rosacea? skincarephysicians.com, W.C. Fields with bulbous, red nose (rhinophyma)

What Is Rosacea?, rosacea.org

Faces of Rosacea, pictures, not pretty

Rosacea, mayoclinic.com

Here's looking at you! Taken from dermatology site below

Acne Rosacea

Tinman

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,

quote:

John Belushi's impression of a zit in Animal House.

<sarcasm>Ahh, another great classic from the SNL group.</sarcasm> I never really understood that movie.

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I can now say that I have probably written more limericks about acne than anyone in the world.

An admirable accomplishment, CJ. They are quite delightful, too!

This all cheered me up . . . but I still suffer from the accursed things. I started getting them when I was 18, about the same time I started to get gray hair (the injustice of it all!) I figured, going through menopause like I am, that the zits would discontinue . . . but, no! Ack!