Chris Barker wrote:
> On a (almost) related subject, I find it ironic that the word
> "wimpy" relates to a hamburger chain from the 1960s and 70s. In fact
> it still exists, but it is much better now than the plastic little
> grease-sinks that they were in my youth. I should be most interested
> to know where the word "Wimp" originated.
Actually, the Wimpy's hamburger chain got its name from the
character Wimpy in the Popeye cartoons. Wimpy was the hamburger
"connoisseur" who always offered to pay later for the burgers he ate
*now*.
According to my Oxford American Dictionary, the word "wimp" (in this
meaning) has an uncertain history, but likely developed in the
1920s, possibly as a contraction of the word "whimper".
Steve
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