When a person is said to have been sacked, it means he has been laid off or fired.

Being sacked was much more serious in ancient Rome. Anyone convicted of parricide (killing a member of his family) was tied in a sack and tossed into the Tiber River. A little less drastic is being sacked, or fired from his job.

In 1600 France, when a man "got the sack," it merely meant he had lost his job.

A workman carried his tools in a sack. While they worked, they left the sack with the boss. When the boss "gave him the sack," it meant he was fired. He was left "holding the bag."

A Pantywaist is a Sissy

In the 1920s children's underpants were buttoned to the undershirts. (Yes. I remember!) The combination was more popular with girls than with boys. Inevitably the boys who wore pantywaists were often called that.

"Lolly" used to mean "Tongue."

In English dialect "Lolly" means "tongue." "Lolly" is also English for "candy." The "pop" probably from the lip-sucking noise of the sucker. Shirley Temple put the word permanently into our language in the 1930's, when she warbled, "on the Good Ship Lollypop."

This is a Leap Year

The year 2004 is a leap year. Why does it "leap"? The skipping of a day is the "leap" in leap year.

The year 2000 was exciting for those who care about such things. The last centennial leap year was 1600, and the next one won't occur until the year 2400.

Dandelion is the Lions Tooth

For a long time the English called the dandelion a "lion's tooth" but in the sixteenth century they adopted the French name for the flower, "dent de lion," when adopted by the English as their rendition called "dandelion."

The flower of the dandelion has no lions teeth. The green leaves that surround the blossom are deeply indented and resemble teeth.

Leave no Tern Unstoned

Some bathers were watching some sea birds that were littering up the beach. So they picked up some rocks and chased them away. They left no tern unstoned.

Catty or Kittycorner?

"Catercorner" came into the English language from the French quatre (four). It is the point diagonally across a square. It has nothing to do with cats or kittens. The U.S. South has its own variant--"caterwampus"!

Where Did Barbecue Come From?

The word barbecue came into English in 1661, borrowed from the Spanish "barbacoa", meaning a framework of sticks." it started out as the name of a raised platform used to roast whole animals over open fires. We now use it for the meat cooked and even the sauce we pour over it.

No Grapes or Nuts in Grape-Nuts

Grape-Nuts cereal was introduced in 1898 by C.W. Post, who named it because of the natural sweetness of wheat and malted barley because it was as crunchy as nuts. Actually the cereal is much crunchier than nuts unless you soak it in milk for a few months. Wouldn't "Grape-Rocks" have been more appropriate?

Why is the End Bitter?

"Bitter end" refers to the end of a rope. Ropes on a ship are tied around posts on the deck. These posts were called "bitts." "Bitter" refers to the last portion of the inboard rope attached to the bow bit, and the "bitter's end" referred to the state of having all the rope paid out with no more room left to maneuver in case of an emergency. (And this is the bitter end of the column.)

Dr. A.O. Goldsmith of Kennett is a retired director of the School of Journalism, Louisiana State University.