New Orleans History -- Lake Pontchartrain
Thursday, December 12, 2024
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G Strings

I got'ta ask-- Why is it called a g string?
Mr. Lake

Will all y'all forgive me but I think it stands for "go go" string. That's what my children's great-grandmother used to call the --you boys turn all y'alls ears away now --- private area.
Alert Reader

I had no idea...but this is what I just found:
"Are you planning to wear one? If so, you would be donning what was originally Native American garb. The word was initially (1878) geestring, and it referred to what amounted to a loincloth held up by a string and worn by certain Indians. Most etymologists think that geestringi was probably originally an Indian word which was adopted in a form that was more familiar to English tongues. The term doesn't appear with reference to showgirl costumes until 1936, but it was likely in use in that sense for some time prior to that date. It was shortened to g-string, possibly by contamination from the notion of stringed instruments like guitars and violins, by 1891, at which time we find this interesting quotation in Harper's Magazine: "Some of the boys wore only 'G-strings' (as, for some reason, the breech-clout is commonly called on the prairie)." This suggests that the word may have been of Sioux or other Plains Indian origin."

Ya nevah know about woids, huh?!

Source: www.takeourword.com
LakeviewGal