Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Give it a whirl

 Here comes 2023, ready or not. Either way we have no choice but to give it a whirl.

>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
To give something a whirl means to "make a brief or experimental try," at least according to The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. The Online Etymology Dictionary has the following to say about the noun version of the word whirl: 

early 15c., "flywheel of a spindle," from whirl (v.). The meaning "act of whirling" is recorded from late 15c.; figurative sense of "confused activity" is recorded from 1550s. Colloquial sense of "tentative attempt" is attested from 1884, American English. 

The origin of the phrase seems somewhat elusive. Some musings over at The Phrase Finder link it to the spinning of a roulette wheel or to a Colonial-vintage toy, the whirlygig. The Idioms Dictionary suggests it has to do with spinning about while wearing a long dress with a full skirt:

...While the phrase “giving it a whirl” can be similar to “giving it a go” or “giving it a try,” the actual origins of it are quite interesting. Indeed, the first use of “give it a whirl” was in the middle to late 19th century. During the mid-Victorian era in America, the technique involving a woman in a long gown starting to whirl her dress on the dance floor with a specific movement was quite a spectacle. The revealing of a girl’s ankles and lower legs was sure to attract more attention in the 1850s, as the culture started to become less strict as far as dancing and activities during a dance were concerned.

The phrase “give it a whirl” has evolved from the whirling of an actual dress to taking on an unfamiliar, daunting, or intimidating task.

 Whether the phrase originated from a toy, a twirling dress, a game of chance, of something else entirely, we've no choice this weekend but to step out of 2022 and give 2023 a whirl, daunting though that may be. 

Here's wishing everyone a great start to the new year!

via GIPHY