Spicing Up Content Using Word Story Tidbits

Just as spices can be used to enhance a standard meat-and-potatoes meal, at Say It For You, we’re always on the alert for ways to “spice up” content marketing text. Explaining the origin of unusual words and expressions can enhance content, making the information which providers of goods and services “serve up” to their readers a tad “tastier”.

 “Ghost words”:

Some words that appear in the dictionary actually originated from typos or linguistic errors, and marketers can describe these happy mistakes as part of their web page or blog post content.  Apparel vendors, for example can share with their readers the tidbit Angela Tung explains in Mental Floss: the word “tweed” may have come from a misuse of the Scottish word tweel,  which was how the Scots pronounced  “twill” (woven fabric).

Content marketers for tutoring or for academics programs might want to explain the mistake that resulted in the word  “syllabus” – Roman philosopher Cicero wrote about sittybas,  referring to the label on a papyrus roll. Somewhere along the line, this was misprinted  as syllabus.

Expressive expressions:

“All that and a bag of chips”, an expression from the 90s (meaning that something is especially  impressive or attractive), first appeared in a 1994 issue of People magazine, WordSmarts explains. Grocers, fast food restaurants and snack food companies might use this tidbit in their marketing materials.  A second expression that food providers might want to include is “spill the beans”.  In the ancient Greek process of voting, putting a white bean in the jar meant “yes”; black or brown ones signified “no”.  If someone spilled the beans, Melanie Curtin writes in Inc., the election results would be revealed.  

Sales trainers and  networking advisors might explain the origin of the expression “break the ice”. Before road transportation was developed, ships were the means of trade.  When ships got stuck during the winter, small ships would be sent to clear a path by breaking up the ice, as Anais John explains in Grammarly.

Spice up your content marketing using some of these word history tidbits!