In a message dated 2/20/07 6:03:41 AM, Phil writes: > My literate wife informs me that the word comes from the Commedia del Arte > term "far fiasco," referring to a character on stage drinking far too much > from a flask of alcohol. > I thought the term originally came from Italian glassblowing. A molten flask of glass that didn't develop properly was called a fiasco. This from the online Merriam-Webster: Etymology: French, from Italian, from fare fiasco, literally, to make a bottle Date: circa 1854 : a complete failure >From Wikipedia: An alternative interpretation of the Italian "far fiasco" as a meaning for failure can be traced to production of glass bottles by glass blowing. A mistake in the process would result in a bottle of irregular shape with protruding or enlarged base which in Italian is termed "fiasco" as opposed to "bottiglia" (bottle).
We could use more slapstick comedy around here, but just putting in jokes would be a deus ex machina. Iris
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