CAKEWALK

[Dr. Goodword]

• cakewalk •

Pronunciation: kayk-wawk • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. Something easily accomplished: selling cosmetics is a cakewalk for her. 2. A 19th-century strutting contest held among African Americans in the southern US in which the contestant who walked with the fanciest steps won a cake. 3. A prancing, strutting dance once performed in minstrel shows.

Notes: The compound, cakewalk, came from the name of the strutting contest mentioned in the second definition above. It is also the origin of the expression, "Well, if that doesn't take the cake!" said when someone outdoes expectations—the equivalent of, "Well, if that doesn't beat all!" A cakewalker is someone who prances or struts when they walk.

In Play: If you read the newspapers in the US these days, you will see that the mid-term elections are not going to be a cakewalk for the Republicans. It is interesting that the negative of cakewalk, i.e. not a cakewalk, usually refers to something exceptionally difficult: "Lester found that running the company was more like herding cats and not at all the cakewalk he had expected." A cakewalk is anything that is exceptionally easy: "Marcia, you read all the time! Winning the spelling bee will be a cakewalk for you."

Word History: Cake was borrowed from the Vikings during their raids along the northern coasts of England in the 11th century. It was the Old Norse correlate of Modern Swedish kaka "cake, cookie, loaf". (Apparently Viking cakes were not as tasty as those we bake today.) Walk comes from the root meaning "roll", which also underlies German Welle "wave", walzen "to roll", which we borrowed for our wavy dance, the waltz. (Coming up with interesting words like today's is a cakewalk for the Pale Writer of our Agora, John Hall.)

[Slava]

I disagree with the statement "It is interesting that the negative of cakewalk, i.e. not a cakewalk, usually refers to something exceptionally difficult". Given that the original meaning was for a contest of exceptionally talented walking styles, shouldn't we be more interested in the fact that cakewalk now means something ridiculously easy? How did that change come about? Is it because people who do something well make it look easy?

On another note, I'm glad cake comes from the Swedish, not the Greek.

Slava

[engineer27]

Given that the original meaning was for a contest of exceptionally talented walking styles, shouldn't we be more interested in the fact that cakewalk now means something ridiculously easy? Slava

When I was in elementary school, we had a carnival day with lots of carnival-style games to play. One was a contest in which students would walk along a closed path composed of squares which had different colors (or numbers perhaps, memory is fuzzy on that point) while music played. When the music stopped, every participant had to stop on whichever square they happened to be standing on. Then, one of the squares at random was selected as a winner (perhaps by drawing lots ... again, cloudy memory). The winner received as a prize a cake baked by parents of one of the students, and donated for the purpose. This activity was known as a "cakewalk," and was a considerably easier contest to win than the one Dr. L. described.

Perhaps this version of a cakewalk is a more recent innovation which led to the usage of the word to mean something easy.

[Bailey]

• cakewalk •

Pronunciation: kayk-wawk • [url=http://www.alphadictionary.com/sounds/cakewalk.mp3

Notes: The compound, cakewalk, came from the name of the strutting contest mentioned in the second definition above. It is also the origin of the expression, "Well, if that doesn't take the cake!" said when someone outdoes expectations—the equivalent of, "Well, if that doesn't beat all!" A cakewalker is someone who prances or struts when they walk.

When was this the case? I hadn't heard that cakewalking was strutting, of couse it's quite possible [even probable] that I do not know everthing.

mark knows-he-doesn't-know-a-lot Bailey

[scw1217]

Interestingly enough, I found two other references to this definition.

One at Wikipedia.com

And another at Streetswing.com. It is interesting to read the entire article to see how the dance evoloved, but the portion pertaining to its history states:

The Chalk Line Walk as it was originally known in 1850 in the southern plantations and later became very popular from 1895-1905 as the Cakewalk with a resurgence around 1915. It originated in Florida by the African-American slaves who got the basic idea from the Seminole Indians (couples walking solemnly). Many of the special movements of the cake-walk, the bending back of the body, and the dropping of the hands at the wrists, amongst others, were a distinct feature in certain tribes of the African Kaffir dances. The African Ring Shout has a certain tie to this dance as well (see Ring Shout.)

These "Walkers" as they were called, would walk a straight line and balance buckets of water on their heads. Over time the dance evolved into a exaggerated parody of the white, upper class ballroom dancers who would imitate the mannerisms (namely the promenades and processionals) of the "Big House" (or masters house) that they observed the White's doing. These Slave's would have some fun with such a dignified walking, flirting, prancing, strutting, bowing low, waving canes, doffing hats, done in a high kicking grand promenade. The Master's and their guest found it amusing, while a few plantation owners frowned upon these shenanigans. For their 'Sunday' entertainment, the plantation owners started having contests to prove to the other who had the best slave walker.

The idea of the Cakewalk was that of a couple promenading in a dignified manner, high stepping and kicking, mimicking whitey's high society. Some of the better plantation owners would bake a special cake called a hoecake wrapped in cabbage leaf on Sundays and invite the neighbors over and have a contest of the slaves, different prizes were given but originally it was a Hoecake for the males and molasses pulled candy for the ladies and whichever slave(s) won, would get the cake / Candy ... thus the term "That Takes The Cake!" (Plus others such as 'It's a Cakewalk' = very easy) and the name "Cakewalk" was now set. The dance grew in popularity even after the Civil War (1861-1865), but it would change and become more grand in style and clothing as time marched on.

None of which I knew! Good word today.