Spud
From Free net encyclopedia
"Spud" is a common nickname for the potato in English-speaking countries. The term spud has been falsely traced to a 19th century activist group dedicated to keeping the potato out of Britain, calling itself The Society for the Prevention of an Unwholesome Diet. However, the correct etymology of "spud" is that this word for potato comes from the digging implement used to uproot them. The word is of unknown origin and was originally (c. 1440) used as a term for a short knife or dagger. It subsequently transferred over to a variety of digging tools. Around 1845 it transferred over to the tuber itself.
"Spud" is also a nickname for a pole that has a flat blade on one end and is used to cut holes in lake ice, usually for fishing purposes.
It was Mario Pei's 1949 The Story of Language that can be blamed for the false origin of the word. Pei writes, "the potato, for its part, was in disrepute some centuries ago. Some Englishmen who did not fancy potatoes formed a Society for the Prevention of Unwholesome Diet. The initials of the main words in this title gave rise to spud." Like all other pre-20th century acronymic origins, this one is false.
In the 17th century, Scottish clergymen banned their flocks from planting potatoes, saying that the tubers were unworthy of human consumption because they were not mentioned in the Bible. The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1768-71), originally published in Edinburgh in the 18th century, referred to the potato as a "demoralizing esculent." A spud is also a name for a fan of the band Devo who were popular in the early 1980s with their hit song, "Whip It." The term can be heard in their song, "Smart Patrol/ Mr. DNA." They refer to themselves as "Spudboy[s]."
Spud also refers to:
- Spud (wrestler)
- Spud mud
- Spud gun
- Spud Webb
- Spud Chandler
- Spud (book)
- Spud the scarecrow, a character in the television series Bob the Builder
- Spud, a character from the Disney Channel animated series American Dragon: Jake Long
- SPUD (game) is a children's game.
- Nickname of Jim Bolger, Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 'Spuds' is a nickname for King Edward VI School in Southampton, a jovial recognition by rival independent schools of the similar name that the school has to the King Edward potato.