How cool is that? Thank you. I love reading about the origin of phrases. I had no idea that the phrase "pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps" had morphed from its original meaning. It's sort of like "the lion's share" has come to mean most of something, but originally it meant ALL of something.

I'm another one who appreciates this kind of "definition" and knowing where it came from, not just computers but any kind..

I remember hearing the term "boot up" used for the first time. I was very new at computing, and had a friend who was quite advanced with it, and she was helping me and used the term.

Thanks.

Sue

That was very interesting and educational. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for posting.

It made me think of why one gets "on" the bus and not "in" the bus. Then, I thought of a possibility. The early made bus was topless and people were really getting "on" the bus, not "in". I guess, this preposition term didn't changed through time in this incident.

Being a foreigner where English is my 2nd language, I tend to wonder at times about certain terminology in the English language.

One that is still puzzling me is the greeting "How do you do?". When I first heard of this greeting, I didn't know how to reply. So, I asked back: "How do I do what?". LOL, I still don't get it! Maybe, you can find out the meaning of that greeting :]

NTT_Hou: here is what I found... there are some very lengthy definitions but I just pasted a nice short one.

How do you do ... A conventional greeting used mostly after being introduced to someone, as in And this is our youngest"say âÂÂHow do you doâ to Mr. Smith. Although it is a question, it requires no reply. Originally, in the 1600s, this expression was an inquiry after a person's health or standing, how do you do meaning âÂÂhow do you fare?â Today we usually express this as How are you? or How are you doing? or How goes it? or How's it going? Even more general are the slangy locutions How are things? or How's tricks? All of these greetings date from the first half of the 1900s.

The usual boot of the computer is one thing that I hadn't thought much of ... and thanks for the info: I was surprised that it was traceable to the good Baron Munchausen!

As for the occasional use ... it depends how mad I am a it! One doesn't want to boot hard enough to break one's toe, though ... so great care is indicated, despite the anger, when wearing slippers.

As for the "How do you do?" when greeting someone: in earlier times major hunger was often somewhat widespread, and there was more disease, with much less effective treatment available, than in modern times, so inquiring after someon'e health and well-being was more important than recently.

In countries where hunger has been common more recently, e.g. Korea, a common greeting was, "Have you eaten (rice)?", with sometimes the "rice" included, sometimes not.

ole joyful

Well?! I knew that "how do you do" is a greeting meaning "How are you doing?". However, the explanations of its origin that you both provided aren't as satisfied as the one about "boot it up". My reply would still be "How do I do what?" : ]

No one ever says Ho do you do? to me, but if they did I think my automatic reply would be Fine, thank you.

Remember boot disks? You first had to insert the boot disk in your computer when starting it.

Do you get "in line" or "on line"? I know we all get online when using the internet, but if I am queuing up tp buy a movie ticket or pay for my groceries, I get in line. It's probably a regional thing.

You get "on" the telephone line ... and most internet connection was originally via telephone line.

There might be a connection.

o j