The word "fiasco," as in "spectacular failure," means "flask" in Italian. Specifically, the flask commonly used for Chianti that is enclosed in a straw basket. The word took on its unpleasant connotation as an Italian theatrical term, as part of the Italian phrase literally meaning "make a bottle," in the mid-19th century, but word-history experts aren't exactly sure of the connection.

Happy 150th birthday to Big Ben, the bell built for the Cl ...

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