Keep Your Fingers Crossed

Crossing your fingers for luck is a familiar gesture in the English-speaking world and in emojis.But why did looping our middle finger over our index finger become a symbol of good luck and hopefulness?

Historically, it was a social ritual. One widely cited origin theory traces the custom to pre-Christian Europe, where the shape of a cross was believed to possess special power. According to this interpretation, the point where two lines intersected was seen as a place where beneficial spirits gathered. A wish made upon a cross could become anchored at that intersection until it came true.

That meant that originally making the gesture of a cross required two people. One person would make a wish while another crossed their index finger over the wish-maker’s finger, forming a small cross. The second participant effectively lent support to the wish, helping guide it toward fulfillment.

The modern solitary gesture may be the descendant of this much older cooperative custom.

Another version connects it to the rise of Christianity. For early Christians, the cross carried obvious religious significance, but the cross symbol had existed in various forms long before Christianity. Making the sign of the cross was believed to offer protection, ward off evil, and invoke divine favor and some folklorists have suggested that crossing one’s fingers may have developed as a smaller, more discreet version of this protective gesture. It may have even been a way for persecuted Christians to identify fellow believers using this as a subtle hand signal.

Whatever its exact origins, finger-crossing gradually moved from the realm of ritual into everyday life. Many customs that began as serious religious or supernatural practices eventually became casual habits. Few people who knock on wood today are consciously invoking ancient beliefs about spirits dwelling in trees, and most people who cross their fingers are not thinking about pagan wishes or Christian symbols of protection.

This post first appeared on my Substack Weekends site

Wanderworts and Other Borrowed Words

Wanderwort is a new word for me. Wanderwort (German for "wandering word" is a word that has spread as a loanword among numerous languages and cultures—often across completely different language families—typically because of trade, travel, or the exchange of new technologies and goods.

Many loanwords come from prepared food, drink, fruits, vegetables, and more from languages around the world. In particular, many come from French cuisine (crêpe, crème brûlée), Italian (pasta, linguine, pizza, espresso), and Chinese (dim sum, chow mein, wonton).

Most of the technical vocabulary of classical music (such as concerto, allegro, tempo, aria, opera, and soprano) is borrowed from Italian.

The vocabulary of ballet comes from French, as does the terminology of the sport of fencing.

Unlike regular loanwords that travel directly from one language to another (like the English "garage" coming from French), a wanderwort "wanders" so extensively along ancient trade routes that its exact point of origin is often incredibly difficult, or even impossible, for linguists to pinpoint. They are linguistic footprints of global commerce.

Virtually every language in the world gets its word for "tea" from one of two variants originating in different Chinese dialects, perfectly mapping out how the beverage was historically traded. From the sea route, the Min Nan dialect spoken in coastal Fujian used the word tê. Coastal traders (like the Dutch) brought this version by sea to Europe, giving us the English tea, French thé, German tee, and Spanish té. Via the land route, the Mandarin dialect used chá. This variant traveled overland across the Silk Road, turning into chay or chai in Persian, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, and Swahili. In America, chai is used to mean a type of tea preparation - though saying "chai tea" is like saying "tea tea."

Similarly, sugar traveled a path across thousands of years alongside the physical cultivation and refining of sugarcane. It began in ancient India as the Sanskrit word śarkarā, which meant "ground or candied sugar" (originally "grit/gravel"). As trade expanded westward, it became śakkar in Persian, which the Arabs adopted as as-sukkar. Medieval European traders interacting with the Arab world brought it into European languages: it morphed into the Italian zucchero, Spanish azúcar, Old French çucre, and eventually the English sugar.

Baby Names from TV and Film: 1980s - 2010s

Continuing our baby names timeline, we find that many baby names between the 1980s and 2010 saw major spikes specifically because of TV characters, actors, and film/pop‑culture phenomena.  

1980s: Soap operas, sitcoms & the rise of surname‑style names.

Ashley — Huge spike; reinforced by The Young and the Restless soap opera and rerelease of Gone With the Wind nostalgia.

Taylor was also boosted by soap characters and the surname‑as‑first‑name trend.

Madison — Splash (1984) is the direct cause of this name’s rise; it barely existed before the film.

Jordan rose due to sports culture (Michael Jordan) and TV usage.

Jennifer continued its dominance from 1970s pop culture and TV.

Jessica got some reinforcement from the sexy Who Framed Roger Rabbit Jessica Rabbit and TV characters.

Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) Dylan McKay (Luke Perry)

The 1990s name spikes came from teen dramas, Disney, sitcoms & multicultural influence. Influencers included Friends, Beverly Hills 90210, Full House, Disney films, and rising pop stars.

Two names from Beverly Hills 90210 were Brandon and Dylan.

Ashley stayed popular and was reinforced by Fresh Prince of Bel‑Air (Ashley Banks).

Samantha was popular in the 1960s from Bewitched but was boosted by Sex and the City (1998).

Chandler came directly from Friends as the name barely existed before the show. Phoebe also saw a rise with Friends.

Ariel spiked after The Little Mermaid (1989) and another Disney-inspired name was Jasmine which saw a huge jump after Aladdin (1992).

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner)

In the first part of the 2000s, we saw names from blockbuster films, fantasy franchises such as Harry Potter, Twilight, The OC, Lost, and the explosion of reality TV.

Isabella/Bella shot up because of Twilight (Bella Swan) and Jacob, which is an old Biblical name and popular in Jewish culture for centuries, became the top boy name of the decade, boosted by the  Jacob Black character in the film.

Aiden was a trendy name reinforced by Sex and the City.

Another old-fashioned name, Emma, saw a upick due to actresses (Emma Watson) and pop culture visibility.

Madison continued its post‑Splash dominance.

Logan made the charts, aided by Wolverine/Logan in X‑Men films.

Sawyer from Lost (2004) appeared as a first name. 

Keira jumped into usage because of actor Keira Knightley’s fame.

The 2010s were shaped by Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games, Frozen, Star Wars, and the Marvel universe.

Khaleesi  (Emilia Clarke)  Arya Stark (Maisie Williams)

Arya is one of the biggest pop‑culture name spikes ever, from Game of Thrones. Add to that the very unusual Khaleesi. Invented by Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin, they became real life baby names.

Elsa took a leap after Frozen (2013).

Rey was added after Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

Luna got attention by Luna Lovegood’s popularity in the harry Potter films.

Harley comes from Harley Quinn’s film resurgence.

Olivia was more popular because of the actresses (Olivia Wilde, Olivia Munn) and TV characters.

Sweating Like a Pig and Pig Iron

 

Pigs have given English several porcine-related phrases based on their perceived behaviors. Some make sense, such as “pigging out” or “happy as a pig in mud.” 

Pigs also have a reputation for excessive perspiration, given the popularity of the phrase “I’m sweating like a pig!” However, this seems to be just bad press. While swine do have some sweat glands, as all mammals do, they have relatively few for their size. As such, they have to roll in the mud or do another similar activity to cool their bodies on a hot day. So, where did “sweating like a pig” come from? 

The idiom actually has to do not with the animal but with the process of iron smelting. More specifically, it comes from the term “pig iron.” 

“Pig iron,” going back to 1665, refers to the “crude iron that is the direct product of the blast furnace.” It’s known as “pig iron” because of the way iron used to be cast. Hot iron was poured into sand molds in a way that visually resembled tiny piglets suckling at their mother’s teat. When the ingots cooled and were broken off, they were sometimes referred to as “pigs,” hence the term “pig iron.” 

As for the “sweating” element of the phrase, it has to do with the cooling process. As iron cools, the surrounding air begins to hit its dew point. In turn, this causes moisture to form on the iron, which looks like little droplets of sweat beading down the ingots (the pigs), and this is where we get “sweat like a pig.”

Baby Names from Television Shows: 1950s 1960s and 1970s

In the 1950s, television was still new, but as the decade progressed, a few popular shows had an impact on naming babies. Both the names of TV characters and TV actors saw an increase.

Ricky was popularized by Ricky Nelson on Ozzie and Harriet and by I Love Lucy's Ricky Ricardo and little Ricky. And Lucille Ball’s fame helped keep the name prominent, more often as Lucy (or Lucie after Lucille Ball named her daughter that).

Donna got a boost from The Donna Reed Show (1958).

Annette rose in popularity due to Annette Funicello on The Mickey Mouse Club (1955). Her career in recording albums and Disney and beach party films kept that name going.

Beaver was not widely used as a legal name, but Leave It to Beaver (1957) was a top show and the brothers Theodore and Wally saw bumps in popularity.

The 1960s saw the first major measurable spikes in baby names - particularly for girls - tied directly to TV characters. Search results confirm that celebrity‑influenced names surged most strongly in the 1960s. 

Samantha skyrocketed after Bewitched (1964). Also, the TV baby, Tabitha, from that program started to appear.

Ginger was a popular and glamorous character on Gilligan’s Island (1964).

Maryann, Gilligan, Ginger

Mary and Maryann were already common, but were probably reinforced by Maryann on that same island, and Mary Tyler Moore in The Dick Van Dyke Show, which also gave a boost to her character's name, Laura.

Who wouldn't want the dreamy name Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie (1965)?

Julia was given attention from Diahann Carroll’s groundbreaking show Julia (1968).

Sean is listed as a boy's name that increased in popularity and is credited to Sean Connery, though he was more of a film star.

Hart as Sabrina

The 1970s were “trendy and TV‑inspired.” This is the decade when TV characters directly shaped the top baby names.

Jennifer was the #1 girl name of the decade, boosted by multiple TV characters, including in the Love Story film, book, and TV adaptations.

Marcia and Cindy from The Brady Bunch (1969) saw increases.

TV characters named Sabrina consistently caused spikes. Sabrina Spellman appeared in the 1960s–1970s as the animated Sabrina the Teenage Witch in early Archie comics and cartoons, and from 1996–2003 in the sitcom Sabrina, as portrayed by Melissa Joan Hart. The character and name moved into the next century with a 1999–2004 animated series with Sabrina as a younger teen.

Cheryl was a popular name, and so was actor Cheryl Ladd (Charlie's Angels) and supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Later, Riverdale had one of the most recognizable modern “Cheryl” characters.

The old-fashioned 1950s name Laverne even got a little boost from Laverne & Shirley (1976) as did Shirley by the same show.

Rhoda was a character on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and then her own show, Rhoda.

Again, girls' names were more likely to come from TV. Like "Beaver," no one was really naming their little boy "Hawkeye," but Benjamin and Pierce saw bumps due to M*A*S*H (1972).