Chrysti The Wordsmith: Don't Take Any Wooden Nickles

Greetings verb of yours and welcome to Kristi the wordsmith. Don't take any wooden nickels is a red white and blue homegrown American proverb that means Be alert. Protect yourself from hucksters and Hornswoggle yrs now since very few folks are gullible enough to confuse wooden currency with the real thing. Where's the sense in this proverb. In the early twentieth century the expression was don't take any wooden money a phrase that showed up in Sinclair Lewis's nine hundred twenty two novel Babbitt by at least one thousand twenty seven. The more familiar version don't take any wooden nickels was put to use by smart slang slinging American collegians. There's a welter of theories out there that try to account for the origin of today's expression. One suggests that the phrase may have come from wooden Centennial tokens literally used as currency at some 19th century celebrations but which became worthless when the event was over. Celebrated American etymologist Stuart Berg Flexner in his word book Listening to America writes quote The

wooden nickels in this expression are probably a humorous reference to the counterfeit items said to have been sold to rustics by conniving Yankee peddlers such as wooden nutmegs wooden cucumber seeds and even wooden hams. Here's Stewart Flexner is suggesting that the yokel gullible enough to buy wooden cucumber seeds could also be convinced to accept wooden money as change. I'm Christie the wordsmith. Good day for divorce Christie the wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.