Phrase of the day 4/3

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Land on your keister

The keister is the buttocks. A fall on the keister (also called “pratfall”) is a device as old as show business and virtually guaranteed to draw laugh. In turn-of-the-century burlesque, one of the celebrated comedians was “Sliding Billy” Watson. He was known for his prodigious slides from one side of the stage to the other, always ending with – you guessed it – a pratfall on his keister.

Before the word keister became a part of backstage argot it had a variety of meanings in the underworld. Pickpockets spoke of a gent’s keisters, meaning his hip pants pockets – the easiest ones from which to snatch a wallet. Sidewalk peddlers called the valises or suitcases in which they carried their merchandise keisters – especially the kind of bags equipped with folding legs for quick set-up at curbside.

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Comments (8)

Lars
5 years ago
You still have time to change "gthe" to "the."
User
5 years ago
My parents & grandparents would say "keister" when referring to a rear end in an amusing way. I assumed it came from a German surname, but never thought to verify. I wonder, do any other countries use 'keister' like we in the USA do?
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chisue
5 years ago
My DH was shocked to hear the very proper German-American mother of one of his playmates tell her boy he was being 'a pain in the heiner'. I'd assumed that keister was also German. Maybe Yiddish?
User
5 years ago
My grandfather had an Uncle Heinrich, that apparently everyone called "Uncle Heinie" (pronounced 'hiney'). It made us giggle as kids.
Elmer J Fudd
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
"I'd assumed that keister was also German"

In German, when there is an ei or ie sequence, the first letter is ignored and the second letter is pronounced.

If keister is the right spelling, that would sound like k eye ster, as in eye. Like the German word meister

To have the ee sound, it would be spelled kiester.
User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Could be when the word was taken into English, we mispronounced it. Or maybe it was from a language other than German. Still sounds like an Old Country last name to me.

eta: Okay I caved and looked it up. The origin probably came through the Old English, German, or Yiddish word for "chest", spellings (and opinions) vary.
Annie Deighnaugh
5 years ago
Kiste in German is chest or box.
Elmer J Fudd
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
That would be pronounced kiss-te, with neither syllable stressed.

Plural (I think) would be kister - kiss-ter, again neither vowel stressed.