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I wonder about things we say…

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By JOY KINGSBURY/for The Herald  —  I wonder about things we say in ordinary conversation that everyone understands, but, we don’t know why we use those euphemisms.

Why are less than desirable people called riff-raff?  What can this have to do with the “Mighty Mo?”

Well………..the Mississippi River was the main artery of travel between the North and the South.  Riverboats carried passengers and freight, but, they were expensive for the poor, who mostly used rafts.  A rafts steering oar was called a “Riff,” The Riff of the Raft was referred to as Riff-Raff, nowadays meaning lower class.

Traveling by steamboat was the height of comfort in those days.  The Cabins were not numbered, but, were named after States.  To this day, cabins on ships are called “Staterooms.”

Floating theaters on barges were built without engines that  would be pushed to small towns along the river, where they would put on their productions.  They were called “Showboats”. They were tawdry, gaudy, and attention grabbing.  So when someone is trying to be the life of the party now, they are “Showboating.”

Steamboats carried people and animals.  Since pigs smelled bad, they would be washed before being put on board.  The mud and filth that was washed off was useless and called “Hog Wash.”  We now refer to untruths or fabricated stories as “Hogwash.”

Heavy freight was loaded onto large barges and pushed downriver by steamboats.  These barges were hard to control and would hit other boats or swing into piers.  People would say they “Barged in.” In these days “Barged In,”  usually relates to unwanted visitors.

Joy Kingsbury is an Oakridge resident and regular contributor to The Herald. Joy Kingsbury photo
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George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.

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