Tennis Love

"Tennis Love"

Why are Zero scores in tennis called "love"?

A: In France, where tennis first became popular,
a big, round zero on the scoreboard looked like
an egg and was called "l'oeuf," which is French
for "egg."

When tennis was introduced in the US,
Americans pronounced it "love."

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"Piggy Bank"

Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?

Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe
were made of a dense, orange clay called
"pygg". When people saved coins in jars
made of this clay, the jars became known
as "pygg banks."

When an English potter misunderstood the
word, he made a bank that resembled a
pig. And it caught on.

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"Caddies"

Why are they called "Caddies?"

When Mary, later Queen of Scots, went to
France as a young girl (for education and
survival), Louis, King of France, learned
that she loved the Scot game "golf."

So he had the first golf course outside of
Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make
sure she was properly chaperoned (and
guarded) while she played, Louis hired
cadets from a military school to accompany
her. Mary liked this a lot and when she
returned to Scotland (not a very good idea
in the long run), she took the practice with
her. In French the word "cadet" is
pronounced 'ca-day' and the Scots
changed it into "caddie."
Received on Tue Jan 31 03:09:33 2006