This Week’s Fun & Fancy Word: Spondulicks!
This Week’s Fun & Fancy Word Is:
Mark Twain used this word in Huckleberry Finn. [1] O. Henry used it in Cabbages and Kings. [2] And you might use it if you’re saving up for an upcoming vacation. You’ll want to make sure you have enough spondulicks to bring back some awesome souvenirs. Ya’ know, moolah, cheddar, coin. It’s slang for cash – specifically, a good chunk of spending money. Cha-ching!
Etymology:
Origins Of The Word Spondulicks
Spondulicks is thought to derive from the Greek word spondulox, which is a type of seashell from the genus spondylus… hence spondulicks. Why seashells? The spondylus shell was used as an early form of currency, some 5,000 years ago.[3]
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Endnotes:
[1] Mark Twain. Huckleberry Finn. New York: Charles L. Webster & Co, 1891. Pg 92. https://archive.org/details/adventuresofhuck00twai/page/n7/mode/2up?q=spondulicks
[2] O. Henry. Cabbages & Kings. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918. Pg 15. https://archive.org/details/18cabbageskings00henrrich/page/n7/mode/2up
[3] Ivo D. Cholakov $ Krastyu Chulakev. “Archaeology in Bulgaria, 2007-2009.” American Journal of Archaeology. Volume 114, Number 4, October 2010. Pp 715-41.
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