Wondering about wild grapes

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Wondering about the "heebie jeebies" and our moon.

Heebie jeebies and the moon are really not related unless you get the shakes when the moon is full and your hair and snout start to grow and . . . oops, now how did I get on the subject of werewolves?  Let me start with the heebie jeebies which, by the way, means getting the shakes over something.  But where in the heck did it originate?  Why in a cartoon, of course.  Cartooist Billy de Beck, who created Barney Google, coined that phrase and two others; "hotsy totsy" and "horse feathers".  At my old age, I can remember these sayings but never knew where they came from.  Well horse feathers!!  Now I know and so do you.

Now about the moon.  Some people wonder why what looks to us as a half of moon is called a quarter moon?  Well, because the moon is half lit when it is a quarter around its phase.  The moon "waxes and wanes" and remember, it has a full phase and a dark phase.

Speaking of the moon, how many of you know its real or scientific name.  The moons of all the other planets have names, so what is the name of our moon.  Now think hard, I am sure you know its real name, in fact I am willing to bet on it.  Give up?  Its real scientific name is. . . . ready for this? . . . "The Moon".  Yep, it has no other name than moon.  Sometimes it is referred to as Earth's moon just to differentiate it from the moons of other planets, but its name is just "moon".  Now go howl at the moon and get the heebie jeebies and have a good day, you hear?

8 comments:

  1. Interestingggg,,,, about those sayings I've always heard,,,hmmmm.

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  2. Thanks for the info this morning! Always fun to learn something new!

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  3. It's been many years since I heard "heebie jeebies ", use to wear it out as a kid. You are causing sparks in the dust bin of my memory circuits.

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  4. Trouble, I guess we need to read the comics more (grin).

    HJ, glad you learned something. I rely on your blog to learn interesting things.

    Jimdabob, Sparks and dust can cause combustion. Better be careful. Wouldn't want your brain to catch fire, then we would have to say that he was "hot headed". . .

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  5. It has been ages since I heard "heebie jeebies" and I have never heard of "hotsy totsy".

    "Horse feathers" I am familiar with as the late Ben in Texas always used it on his blog.

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  6. MsB, I remember them all. Haven't heard some for a long, long time.

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  7. I think "the" Moon might also be called Earth's Natural Satellite to differentiate it from "the" Moon(s) of another planet.

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  8. edifrey, our close lunar friend is the only planets' satellite that doesn't have another name other than "moon". Our closest star is called "the sun" or "old sole" so maybe we should have a moon naming contest.

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