An Ounce Of Pluck

Pluck. Who the hell says that anymore? "That boy has pluck, he's going to be someone." "She's a plucky one alright, nothing and no one is going to stand in her way."

About a billion years ago the word was used regularly, as sage advice - "An ounce of pluck is worth a pound of luck," and as encouragement - "That's the way son, show some pluck."

Nowadays...well, nowadays I do not believe it's used for anything other than as a last ditch attempt to create a rhyme with duck or buck or muck or stuck, or...I think you know where this is going to end up.

I'm fairly certain I've never used the word myself, nor can I recall anyone else ever using the word around me. However, today I heard the word "pluck" used in casual conversation, and by a person under the age of 40.

It was surprising, to the point that I stopped and listened in on the conversation for a full minute or so, and when the conversation had moved on, I made a mental note to Google the word, find out a little more about it.

Try this next time you're curious about a word origin. Go to Google, and type the word in the search engine followed by the word "etymology" - like so: Pluck etymology

The Internet is a grand and glorious thing. Now I know that "pluck" is of Germanic origin, and has a few different definitions. The one I heard being used tonight was synonymous with "courage", not the one that refers to the act of pulling off or out, as in plucking a petal off a flower or pulling on a guitar string.

BTW, apparently there are a few websites devoted to "false etymologies" of which there are quite a few for pluck.

Oh, and BTW part II, there are more than 89,000 websites that deal with the etymology of "pluck."

The word "pluck" has fallen to the wayside, replaced by words that carry more weight, such as "brass" or "bravery." And "gumption."

Wait a minute, no one says "gumption" anymore. Where did that word even come from? Hold on, BRB.