I'm on a roll, so we'll continue with our spooky slang-o-rama explorations for October. If this time of year gives you the heebie-jeebies, that is, leaves you with a feeling of anxiety, apprehension or illness, well....
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... I am here to help you out. At least, etymologically speaking.
The Phrase Finder has a nice entry on the term, noting:
The sound of this term seems to hark back to earlier rhyming phrases, like hocus-pocus and mumbo-jumbo, with a touch of the jitters thrown in. The meaning is more like the British term - the screaming habdabs.
Heebie and jeebie don't mean anything as independent words and heebie jeebies was coined at a time and place when there was a spate of new nonsense rhyming pairs, called rhyming reduplications, - the bee's knees, etc., that is, 1920s USA.
The term is widely attributed to William Morgan "Billy" de Beck. The first citation of it in print is certainly in a 1923 cartoon of his, in the 26th October edition of the New York American: "You dumb ox - why don't you get that stupid look offa your pan - you gimme the heeby jeebys!"World Wide Words also credits de Beck with its creation, citing the same 1923 appearance. The Word Detective agrees. Dictionary.com dates it even earlier: 1905–10... but I can't find any use from that timeframe (at least through Google's ngram). I did find it in a 1911 book—The Story of Carol by Edmondstoune Duncan (what a name, right? Perfect for a fictional character!). You can view the passage here.
I'd love to find an earlier appearance of this term, so if anyone spots one, let me know!
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Feeling anxious? Got the heebie-jeebies? If so, you've got lots of company!
The Scream By Edvard Munch
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4 comments:
My aunt used terms like bee'newbies. Lol. Nice to know the history.
Halloween gives my dog the heebie jeebies, so I had to disconnect handing out treats to kids and concentrate on service people.
Oops.Discontinue.
Hi Liz!
We still do the "treat thing," but have to put the cat in a bedroom behind a closed door. It's not a great time for her, what with the doorbell ringing and pounding on the door.
Enjoy the day!
Sorry autocorrect ran amok.
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