Minicast Bonus: Cocktail

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A Way with Words

Language Learning, Education, Society & Culture

4.6 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this bonus A Way with Words minicast, Martha and Grant look into the myriad stories behind the word cocktail. Does the drink name come from feathers? Horses? Something up a horse’s rump? It’s a weird wandering down etymology lane… Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: ⁠⁠https://waywordradio.org⁠⁠. Be a part of the show: call or text ⁠⁠1 (877) 929-9673⁠⁠ toll-free in the United States and Canada; elsewhere in the world, call or text ⁠⁠+1 619 800 4443⁠⁠. Send voice notes or messages via ⁠⁠WhatsApp 16198004443.⁠⁠ Email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:27.3	Content may include ads 18 plus teas and sees apply. Welcome to another minicast from Away with Words.
0:33.2	Today we're tackling a question from Terry Wilkins. Terry wants to know about the origin of the word cocktail.
0:41.1	He's looked in several dictionaries, and he said he's never found a definitive answer.
0:47.4	Martha, can we help?
0:49.4	Well, there's certainly lots of stories floating around.
0:52.1	There's the one about how French people would sip intoxicating
0:55.7	beverages from egg cups known as coquettier, or about using a rooster feather to stir early
1:02.7	versions of such concoctions, or then there was the one about the Aztec princess. Oh, how many of
1:09.1	these are there? There must be hundreds of these.
1:11.4	Lots of stories.
1:12.9	But I know for certain there's so little evidence to back these up.
1:17.1	Yeah, pretty much none for those stories.
	...

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