Something You've Always(?) Wanted to Know

The more and more I bring myself to read, and to study, and to do constructive things, the more I begin asking myself deep questions.  I find answers to questions I didn't even know that I had.  I develop more questions, questions that could change the way I see the world, or even the way others see the world.

These are not of those questions.

What exactly is the difference between hubbub and hullabaloo?  When is a get-together a shindig as opposed to a hoedown or a hootenanny?

Never fear.  I have these answers.  I also have to point out that around two years ago when I first had the idea to start blogging, my sister told me nobody would care anything about this topic.  Please prove her wrong.  Well, no, that's wrong of me.  It shouldn't be about proving her wrong.  That's misguided.  Make it about proving me right.

So, we go to the dictionary before we begin any real research.  I have Google, therefore I have access to droves of etymological research on these funny-sounding words.  However, I haven't so much free time that I really intend to sit here and research every detail of terms I'm pretty sure are completely made up.

You still can't get past the term "etymological," can you?  Yes, I'm sure that's the study of words.  You're thinking of entomology, the study of insects.  Don't worry; it's a common mistake.  And so is confusing hubbub and hullabaloo.  See, hubbub is of Gaelic origin, meaning, most literally, "confusion" or "tumult."  Hullabaloo, in the meantime, means "great noise, excitement, or uproar."  Worth noting is that it is also of Scottish (therefore, probably Gaelic) origin.  Why have two words for the same thing?  Okay, don't answer that.  Anyway, I do think it is also worth noting that originally holloballo, contrived from holla (hello) and baloo (song or lullaby).  It usually refers to a protest, actually.  And it makes me think of this.

Similar is the term "hoopla," a "boisterous, jovial commotion or excitement" or "extravagant publicity intended to mislead or confuse."  So, in the informal sense, hoopla is excitement for the opposite reason as a hullabaloo.  Best the etymologists can figure out is that it probably comes the French term meaning "upsy-daisy."  No, I didn't make that up.  

Now, on to the more important issue.  The shindig vs. the hoedown vs. the hootenanny.

Shindig:  "a festive party, often including dancing."  Again, probably Scottish origin.

Hoedown:  1.  "a square dance" 2.  "the music for a square dance" 3.  "A social gathering at which square dancing takes place."  This term obviously originated in the U.S.  Probably the south, but maybe Pennsylvania, apparently.  I'm pretty sure somebody said something like, "C'mon, Festus, put yer hoe down an' kick up yer heels!"

Hootenanny:  "an informal performance by folk singers, typically with audience participation."  So that explains it.  Oh, and guess what?  Yup.  Scottish origin.

Here's the rundown, then.  If your party is festive and includes dancing, it is a shindig.  If there is square dancing, it is a hoedown.  A party, then, can be both a shindig and a hoedown, but if it is not, in fact, all that festive, but there is square dancing, it is, then, merely a hoedown.  However, if a guy whips out his guitar, his brother Darryl arrives with a banjo, and Uncle Bill (because EVERYBODY has an Uncle Bill, amirite?) pulls out an accordion (or perhaps a concertina?), and they start singing folk tunes, you now have an hootenanny on your hands.  (Huh?  Yes.  AN hootenanny.  I'm quite sure.  Look it up.  Grammar Nazi.)  Therefore, conceivably, your party could be all three, a shindig, a hoedown, and an hootenanny.  (No, I don't know why it isn't AN hoedown.  It just doesn't sound right.)

Finally, I want to bring one of my absolute favorite words into the equation.  It has nothing to do with any of the other words which I have mentioned.  It stands alone.  It is epic.  It is "bamboozled."  To bamboozle is "to take in by elaborate methods of deceit, to hoodwink."  And guess what?  It's probably from the Scottish bombaze, meaning "perplex," which, in turn, came from the French term for a type of padding, which is also the origin of bombast.  Best I can follow, the term is applied to bombastic language metaphorically, saying that one is "padding" themselves, or building themselves up beyond what they really are, which would, in fact, be deceptive, thus, bamboozled.

So, really, I think the most important lesson from this blog post is that the Scottish talk funny.