The story attributes the word to Dicky Turner, a member of the society, who had a stammer, and in a speech said that nothing would do but "tee-tee-total abstinence".
Friday, 14 January 2011
An embarassing admission
Until yesterday I thought the word "teetotaller" was spelt "teatotaller", its derivation having something to do with drinking lots of tea instead of alcohol. Its exact etymology is unclear, but one possible explanation, which traces the word's origins to a meeting of the Preston Temperance Society in 1832 or 1833, is quite intriguing. To quote from Wikipedia:
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4 comments:
You had me on tenderhooks there.
I believe the word is TenTerhooks
I believe Mr Anonymous was being ironic.
Oh. Sorry.
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