(written by Islander)

I wonder what made me curious about the etymology of the word “ruckus“? Maybe it will come back to me.

In searching for an answer I found no clear answer. Its meaning is clear enough — a commotion, a disorderly disturbance, a row. Per one source, it has been compared to ruction and rumpus and rampage, but the early forms vary and include rookus (1882), rucus (1877), rukus (1879), also rukas, roockus, rucuss. And there’s this:

Apparently a regional word in the U.S. West and South; when Sen. William J. Stone of Missouri used it in 1914, the editors of the New York “Sun” were baffled, but the Bismarck, N.D., “Daily Tribune” (March 3) replied that ruckus was “a word in perfectly good standing almost anywhere west of the Ohio.”

Anywhere west of Ohio… apparently including… New Zealand! And now it comes back to me! Continue reading »