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Re: DONGLE
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 6:37 pm
by Slava
Theories on the etymology of "dongle":
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/a ... es/278180/
Mostly off the wall, but rather a fun read nonetheless.
Re: DONGLE
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 7:42 pm
by MTC
Got up in Western gear, Morton strode confidently to the bar and ordered a sarsaparilla, but the out-of-tune "dingle, dongle, dingle" of his spurs betrayed his status as a dude.
Re: DONGLE
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 7:48 pm
by Perry Lassiter
Since dongle appeared in the column, I have used it frequently and found it a useful word!
Re: DONGLE
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:42 pm
by Slava
Since dongle appeared in the column, I have used it frequently and found it a useful word!
When was that? This post or the original
2005 edition or the
2007 one?
By the by, when I posted this version, I did not notice that the Word History had been changed. It should read thusly:
Today's Good Word has a very short history. It was first the name of a chip for the Apple ][+ computer, introduced in 1979, a chip that was required to prevent unauthorized use of Apple's first accounting program (thank you
Pierre Laberge). It is easy to see that this word might have been an intentional variant pronunciation of dangle. However, as the definitions above make clear, the original dongle didn't dangle. In all probability, the word was made up, then gained wider currency as dongles did begin to dangle and the word made more sense to the general population.
Re: DONGLE
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 10:33 pm
by Philip Hudson
MTC: Yeah. Dude's spurs do go "dingle, dongle, dingle" and it gives them away every time. Tex Ritter says, and he ought to know, that his spurs go "jingle jangle jingle."
See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_9pVRZ0QKw