Did the expression "peter out" begin with a guy named "Peter"? Who are those Joneses we're always keeping up with? And is there an actual Susan behind "Lazy Susan"?

Several proposed explanations for the origin of "peter out" have, well, petered out. Some people attribute the term to St. Peter, whose support for Jesus gradually withered. Others trace it to one Peter Schmidt of Ohio, who worked hard on the first day of a job but then grew lazier as time went on.

Still others claim it was coined during the California gold rush by miners who used explosives made from saltpeter (potassium nitrate). Supposedly, when repeated blasting in a seam of ore produced less and less gold, miners would say the seam had "petered out." The problem is "peter out" first appeared during the 1830s, well before the California gold rush.

As Evan Morris points out on his website, http://www.worddetective.com, the most likely source is the French word "peter," which means, to put it delicately, "break wind." So, something that peters out has, well, run out of gas.

Our luck also peters out when we try to find the actual "Joneses" in "keeping up with the Joneses." And, no, this phrase has nothing to do with the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Cartoonist Arthur "Pop" Momand claimed to have invented the term when he used it as the title for a comic strip he launched in 1913. In fact, he plucked it from "keeping up with the Smiths and Joneses," a phrase that had first appeared in 1894. These two common American surnames originally referred not to any specific families but to generic neighbors whose conspicuous consumption we try to equal.

Which might explain that fancy-schmancy new Lazy Susan on your kitchen table. "You should see the one the Joneses have!" This revolving food tray has been used in American homes since the 1700s, but the term "Lazy Susan" didn't appear in print until 1917.

We can easily debunk the popular folk explanation that Thomas Jefferson, who imported the device from France, named it after his youngest daughter who was always overlooked when food was passed during dinner: Jefferson didn't have a daughter named Susan.

Some etymologists speculate that it refers to a specific maid named Susan or perhaps to the use of "Susan" as a generic term for a maid, as "Bridget" often was. Others claim it was inspired by the circular shape of the flower known as the black-eyed Susan.

Truth be told, when it comes to "Lazy Susan," etymologists are just spinning their wheels.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

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