Now I Know - Now I Know: All Your BS is… Vegan?

No animals were harmed in the making of this newsletter. -- Dan
 

All Your BS is… Vegan?

The term “BS” is a shorter, more family-friendly way to reference a term that is actually the combination of two shorter words -- “bull,” which I can safely spell out in a family-friendly publication such as this one, and… another word which I can’t, given that same parameter. That’s okay, though, because today’s story is about the etymology of “BS,” and specifically, the “bull” part.

Because if you’re thinking it has to do with one of those creatures pictured at the top of this email, you’re probably wrong.

“BS,” as you almost certainly know, is a crude-but-enjoyable way of saying something is nonsense or otherwise false. In English, we have plenty of other words to express the same idea, but few come with the same denotative disdain as “BS.” It’s evocative of a kind of gross mental image, like the one below, involving a male cow taking a poop. To some degree, that makes sense; if you’re stating that someone else’s opinion is BS, for example, you probably value it as much as you would a piece of bull dung. But if you dig deeper -- not literally, yikes! -- the phrase doesn’t quite work. Bull turds are gross and, fertilizer-value aside, probably something you wish to avoid, but there’s nothing about them that’s fake or insincere. If anything, vets and ranchers can probably determine a lot of truth from bull poop if need be.

So why do we associate lies with bull droppings? Don’t blame the bulls -- blame a collision of origin languages. The term “BS” (not the initialism, but the actual word) dates back to the early 1900s, most likely around 1914, according to Merriam-Webster. At the time, bulls -- the animals -- weren’t necessarily thought of as liars or anything like that, but “bull” wasn’t only used to describe those animals. At around the same time, a second meaning for “bull” emerged -- one meaning "insincere, trifling, or deceptive talk," according to the Online Etymology Dictionary.  That term, per EtymologyOnline, was “apparently from Old French bole ‘deception, trick, scheming, intrigue,’ and perhaps related to modern Icelandic bull ‘nonsense,’” and has nothing to do with the animal of the same name.

So it’s possible, if not likely, that the “bull” part of “BS” has no connection to the bovines of the male persuasion. It’s probably just a coincidence that the animal shares a name with some repurposed Old French word. I guess we owe a lot of bulls an apology?



Now I Know is supported by readers like you. Please consider becoming a patron by supporting the project on Patreon. 

Click here to pledge your support. (If you do, in gratitude, you'll have an ad-free Now I Know experience going forward.)

Bonus fact: Bentley, the car maker, has leather seats -- and all of that leather comes from bulls. Why not from (female) cows? Blame the reproductive process. Betley insists on hides without blemishes, and as Autocar explains, bulls are therefore better "because bulls don’t get the stretch marks cows do."

From the Archives: How Cows Mooved Through Manhattan: That's not a typo, it's a dad joke.
Like today's Now I Know? Share it with a friend -- just forward this email along.
And if someone forwarded this to you, consider signing up! Just click here.
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Archives · Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Now I Know LLC, All rights reserved.
You opted in, at http://NowIKnow.com via a contest, giveaway, or the like -- or you wouldn't get this email.

Now I Know is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Some images above via Wikipedia.

Now I Know's mailing address is:
Now I Know LLC
P.O. Box 536
Mt. Kisco, NY 10549-9998

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your email address or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

Older messages

Now I Know: How Did We Wake Up Before Alarm Clocks?

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

It's the "people with long sticks" version View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives This is a re-run from January 2015 -- enjoy! -- Dan How Did We Wake Up Before

Now I Know: Why "It's Time to Change Your Password" May Be a Bad Idea

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Because "P4SSW3RD" isn't more secure than "PASSWORD" View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives I had to do this at a former job and it drove me crazy --

Now I Know: When History Forgot About Neil Armstrong

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

One small step for man, but a giant yawn from mankind? View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives This is a re-run from 2016. Enjoy! -- Dan When History Forgot About Neil

Now I Know: The Possibilities Are Endless. Is That a Problem?

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

A weird question I had to answer this week View this email in your browser · Missed an issue? Click here! If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format is different than

Now I Know: When the Frogs Attacked (Kind Of)

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

They croaked, but no one else did View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives Hope you had a great weekend! -- Dan When the Frogs Attacked (Kind Of) In May of 1754, war broke out

You Might Also Like

Convert more leads with your emails.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Expert insights on building lead nurture flows. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Uber's service migration strategy circa 2014. @ Irrational Exuberance

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Hi folks, This is the weekly digest for my blog, Irrational Exuberance. Reach out with thoughts on Twitter at @lethain, or reply to this email. Posts from this week: - Uber's service migration

The Polar Bear Prison

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Maybe it's more of a re-educational camp? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

• Book Series Promos for Authors •  All in one order • Social Media • Blogs

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

~ Book Series Ads for Authors ~ All in One Order! SEE WHAT AUTHORS ARE SAYING ABOUT CONTENTMO ! BOOK SERIES PROMOTIONS by ContentMo We want to help you get your book series out on front of readers. Our

🤝 2 Truths Every Biz Buyer Should Know

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Plus 1 Game-Changing Idea for SMB Acquisition Biz Buyers, Welcome to Main Street Minute — where we share some of the best ideas from inside our acquisitions community. Whether you're curious or

Artistic activism, the genetics of personality & archeological strategies

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Your new Strategy Toolkit newsletter (January 14, 2024) ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Reminder: B2B Demand Generation in 2025

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Webinar With Stefan and Tycho ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Why Some Types of Art Speak to You More Than Others

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Your weekly 5-minute read with timeless ideas on art and creativity intersecting with business and life͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

How Chewbacca Roared a Woman into New Teeth

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

It started as a prank. A funny, and mostly harmless one -- annoying, sure, but most pranks are. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

🧙‍♂️ [SNEAK PEEK] Stop giving brands what they ask for…

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Why saying “no” could actually be your smartest move ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏