moxie and Moxie

As a word, "moxie" means something like "energy, determination, spunk, courage, nerve, spirit, or guts". This term has been around since the 1930s and has continued in use, to some extent, into the early 21st century. "That girl has got moxie!"

I thought to look for an origin when I came across on Netflix the film MOXiE!, a 2021 American young adult comedy-drama film directed by Amy Poehler. 

But Moxie with a capital "M" is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was originally marketed as "nerve food" which would "strengthen the nervous system" and was "very healthful" and a "drink for athletes" that "strengthens and invigorates" - hence its slang usage. 

It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Massachusetts. Thompson claimed that it contained an extract from a rare, unnamed South American plant, which is now known to be gentian root. Thompson claimed that he named the beverage after Lieutenant Moxie, a purported friend of his, who he claimed had discovered the plant and used it as a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases (a panacea). 

from the 1922 ad "The Moxie Boy compels attention..."
Public Domain, Link

Etymologies say it likely derived from an Abenaki word that means "dark water" and that is found in lake and river names in Maine, where Thompson was born and raised. 

The sweet soda is similar to root beer, with a bitter aftertaste and it is flavored with gentian root extract, an extremely bitter substance commonly used in herbal medicine.

Moxie was designated the official soft drink of Maine in 2005 and continues to be regionally popular today, particularly in New England states, and is even available on Amazon. Moxie was purchased by The Coca-Cola Company in 2018.

The 13th Floor Elevators

The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969 and released four albums and seven singles. 

They were the first band to refer to their music as "psychedelic rock." The first-known use of the term to describe a musical style was on the band's business card in January 1966.

 The band's electric jug player Tommy Hall added a musical element you would never expect in a psychedelic rock band. Hall was also the band's lyricist.

The band's name developed from a suggestion by drummer John Ike Walton to use the name "Elevators". Clementine Hall added "13th Floor" because many tall buildings in the US lack a designated 13th floor as it is considered to be superstitiously unlucky and tenants would not want to live on that floor. Of course, these buildings do have a 13th floor but the elevator numbers skip from 12 to 14. Sometimes it is also noted that the letter "M" (for marijuana) is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.

Their original albums are collectibles but most of their material is available on several best of compilations such 13 of the Best 13th Floor Elevators. Their debut single "You're Gonna Miss Me", a national Billboard No. 55 hit in 1966, was featured on the 1972 compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968. 

oomph

The word "oomph" is an Americanism that dates back to 1935–40. It's an imitative word that sounds like the sound made during exertion, such as lifting a heavy object. It is an onomatopoeia that imitates a sound. Ah, but what sound is it imitating?

According to Online Etymology Dictionary , “oomph” means "sexual attractiveness," 1937 (umph), suggestive visceral physical sound.

Ann Sheridan (1915–1967) was the original Hollywood "oomph girl."

Some say the word comes from the forceful sound of being hit in the belly, like a boxer taking a punch to the midsection. Others say it may be imitative of the bellow of a mating bull. If you said that a powerful car has plenty of oomph, then on acceleration it pins you back in your seat and makes you say “oomph.”.

"Oomph" has multiple meanings: Power and strength; enthusiasm, vigor, or energy; sex appeal; or expressive of exertion