tohubohu

Pronounced: TOE-hoo-boh-hoo, noun

Notes: A new word to me, but it is useful (it is a thing we encounter)

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Yesterday’s word

The word callithump is “a noisy boisterous band or parade”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word is primarily used in America. In the 1800s, there were New Year’s parades by people with noisemakers (as opposed to genuine instruments) — we’re talking pots, pans, cowbells, and so on. This group of people were called “callithumpians” or a “callithumpian band”, and our word came to refer to the sound (noise?) that they made. The American word came from the British dialect word “Gallithumpians” (one can imagine how one could hear the “G” as a “C”) – these were a group who caused a ruckus during Parliamentary elections. It is thought that “Gallithumpians” were trying to make a noise to scare people from voting, as in a British dialect, gally means “to scare; to frighten”, thus gallicrow (scarecrow).