play cartoon-of-british-nobility
Word History

Why Did Yankee Doodle Call a Feather 'Macaroni'?

What's with his feathered cap?


Editor Serenity Carr breaks down the sartorial origins of the famous song "Yankee Doodle" and why it references macaroni.

Transcript:


Have you ever wondered why in the old Yankee Doodle song he puts a feather in his cap and calls it 'macaroni'? In the 1760s, a group of young well-traveled English men who prided themselves in their appearance, sense of style, and manners founded a club in London. At the time, macaroni was a new and exotic food in England and so the young men named their club the Macaroni Club to demonstrate how stylish its members were. The members themselves were called macaronis. And eventually the word macaroni came to mean the same thing as dandy, or "a man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance." Like one who wears feathered caps.

Up next

play image1815466723
How Do You Pronounce 'Vase'?

 

And is one way more correct than the others?

play calendar that says day today
Is It 'Day today' or 'Day-to-day'?

 

What about Day Tomorrow?

play mrs malaprop
What is a Malaprop?

 

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

play how to use a dictionary
How to Use a Dictionary

 

The best way to find information in the dictionary

play video ending a sentence with a preposition
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

 

An old-fashioned rule we can no longer put up with.

play illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day
'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day'

 

A simple trick to keep them separate