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Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. -Carl Sandburg

furphy (FUR-fee) noun

A rumor.

After the Furphy family of Victoria, Australia, manufacturer of Furphy carts, for water or trash. These carts where used during World War I, around which troops gathered and exchanged gossip. This word was formed in much the same way as scuttlebutt, the word we got from nautical terminology. A scuttlebutt was an open cask of drinking water, a favorite meeting place of the crew to swap stories.

Date: 2001-12-04 09:29 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] meredith.livejournal.com
hehe, you're a subscriber to wordsmith as well? i love their quotes more than the words sometimes.

Re:

Date: 2001-12-04 12:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scottobear.livejournal.com
yup! wordsmith is one of my fave info lists! :)

Re:

Date: 2001-12-04 08:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scottobear.livejournal.com
I believe it's fairly obscure.. more popular in the 20s and 30s.

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