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Jewish World Review
April 19, 2005
/ 10 Nisan, 5765
Meaning and origin of au pair; the buck stops here; asunder,?
By
Editors of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Dear Editor:
I would like to know the origin of the term au pair to describe a
person, usually a young woman, hired to care for children. I see it
often but have never seen an explanation.
J.C., Goshen, Vt.
Dear J.C.:
Au pair entered English as a noun just within the last 50 years. The
term wasn't unknown before that, but its occasional earlier use by
English speakers in the 19th century and in the early part of the 20th
century was as an adjectival or adverbial phrase, as in She is seeking
a position au pair, which closely reflects the original French use. In
French the phrase means literally at par, but it might be best
translated as on equal terms. (The French word pair is
ultimately derived from Latin par, meaning equal.) This is in
reference to the reciprocal arrangement under which an au pair is
usually engaged.
Nowadays, an au pair works for a family in return for room and board and
a small salary, but in the past there were other types of au pair
arrangements as well, such as an English girl's exchange of foreign
language classes for teaching English at a French school. Some au pair
exchanges may even have involved two families whose daughters exchanged
places for a short time to learn each other's language. However, though
some have interpreted it so, there's no evidence that pair was ever
intended to mean equal in the sense of equal treatment as a member
of a family.
Au pair became an English noun when the British picked up the
Continental au pair system to supply their homes with affordable
domestic help after World War II. Foreign girls were willing to work for
no more than room and board and pocket money since the arrangements gave
them an opportunity to learn English.
Just as in England, au pair in the United States usually refers to a
young foreign woman. While adopting au pair, we've also picked up on
the British term nanny to use for a usually older woman, whether
foreign or American, who has similar duties but whose job specifically
involves child care. An au pair isn't necessarily in charge of children,
though in the United States she frequently is.
Dear Editor:
Would you please explain the meaning and origin of the popular phrase
the buck stops here?
R.M., Jamesburg, N.J.
Dear R.M.:
President Harry S. Truman is to be given credit for originating this
expression. Truman proudly displayed a hand-lettered sign on his desk
which read the buck stops here. There is no indication that the
saying existed before then. Of course, it is a direct reference to the
much older phrase pass the buck, which goes back to the Civil War
era. The buck in this expression was an object in the game of poker
that was passed from one player to another as a reminder where the next
deal would fall. The term may have come from the practice of using a
pocketknife with a buckhorn handle for the purpose. More likely,
however, it derives from the buckshot or bucktail used as a marker by
19th-century poker players.
In any event, the phrase pass the buck is still used to mean to
evade a job or responsibility by delegating it to someone else. Hence,
the phrase the buck stops here implies that one will accept a
responsibility rather than passing it on. It served as a particularly
apt motto for Truman's very personal, no-nonsense approach to the
presidency.
Dear Editor:
Can you tell me about the word asunder, as in what G-d has brought
together, let no one put asunder? I understand what it means, but I
don't think I've ever heard it in any context other than wedding ceremonies.
C.O., Taos, N.M.
Dear C.O:
Many people know the word asunder from the familiar biblical passage
What therefore G-d hath joined together, let not man put asunder. But it is not limited to that context. Asunder is an
adverb meaning into parts and apart from each other in position.
It can be found fairly often in contemporary writing to describe various
types of divisions or separations, as in a nation torn asunder by
civil war or a family ripped asunder by divorce. Asunder stems
from the verb sunder, which means to break apart or in two, to
separate by or as if by violence or by intervening time or space.
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