Know your English
WHAT IS the origin of the word "piggyback"?
Children usually love being given piggyback rides. When you give a child a piggyback ride what you normally do is to put him on your shoulders or on your back and walk around with him. The expression "piggyback" comes from "pick a pack". In the old days — and I guess even now — it was common practice for individuals who had to carry a heavy object to invariably place it on their back. This method of carrying things around was called "pick a pack". And `pick a pack' when said quickly became `pickapack'. Parents often carried their children "pickapack" too. But children because they loved animals so much changed "pickapack" to "piggyback".
Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, November 27, 2001
0 comments:
Post a Comment