[EMAIL PROTECTED],Internet writes:
Could someone enlighten us as to the origin of this term ?
Although I don't have any sources at hand to confirm this,
I believe "sashay" was originally the name for a dance step,
which was then applied to a kind of walk which resembled
the dance step in its hip movement. (The term is usually
applied to female or effeminate walks.) "Mosey" means a
slow amble. Neither "sashay" nor "mosey" implies
aimlessness of direction, so neither is really an
equivalent to "wander".
Steve Martin's comedy is usually both clever and
verbally precise: if he said somebody was going to
sashay somewhere, he was most likely commenting
on somebody's unusual gait.
My opinion, anyway.
Judyth
-----Original message----
I heard it first in "Dead Men don't wear Plaid" (Steve Martin) and
assumed it was some sort of parody word for 'mosey', 'wander' or
something.
Since then, my wife has come across it in a number of American novels,
hence our curiosity.
TIA for any contributions :-)
Andrew
