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cock-a-hoop: msg#00015

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: cock-a-hoop

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The Word of the Day for April 16 is:

cock-a-hoop \kah-kuh-HOOP\ adjective
*1 : triumphantly boastful : exulting
2 : awry

Example sentence:
Team members, still cock-a-hoop over last week's victory,
need to regain their focus and win one more game for the
championship.

Did you know?
The adjective "cock-a-hoop" comes from a curious 16th- and
17th-century expression, "to set cock a hoop," which meant "to
be festive" or "to drink or celebrate without restraint."
Etymologists, however, are not entirely certain about the origin
of that old expression. Although no one knows if it originally
had any connection with the "rooster" sense of "cock," many
people thought it did -- and this perceived association
influenced the current meaning of "cock-a-hoop." The cock is
known for its triumphant crow, and "cock-a-hoop" is now used to
refer to something triumphantly boastful.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





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