Monday Morning Zip

I love today’s Daily Prompt! Zip. One of the most elusive, malleable words in the English language.

My first thought: Infinite Zip — the name of Kim’s dearly beloved, departed dog. Also what I don’t have (infinite zip).

Other thoughts:

  • Since when did Zip-codes bring more zip into postal delivery?
  • Why don’t the promises of zip, vim and vigor ever work for me?
  • Who invented these teeny, tiny zippers that always stick on the way up or down?
  • I don’t have a clue what to write about zip.

So I went to my faithful Oxford English Dictionary under zip/nouns/colloquial and hit the jackpot!

  • 1875, Fogg in Arabastan xxi: “The blood-thirsty zip of mosquitoes by the million…”
  • 1907, N. Munro in Daft Days: “That’s how I feel…when I’ve got the zip of poetry in me.”
  • 1980: J. Krantz in Princess Daisy: “No launch, no commercials, no nothing. Zip! Finished! Over!”
  • 1940: In Punch 5 June: “Miss Fisher used to  wear some lovely plum-coloured trousers with a zip to match.”
  • 1977: C. McFadden in Serial (1978): “Spenser rummaged among the Ziploc bags in his briefcase….”
  • 1979: In This England Winter 19/3: “She folded her cap inside her apron and pushed both into her zip-topped bag.”

Wishing each of you a zippy day! Which about zips it up for now.

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 24 April 2017
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