AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I have an interest in the meanings of words and phrases, as well as how and when they became part of the English language. I enjoy
researching idioms, colloquialisms, dialects, and obscurities of
all kinds. I prefer short questions on a particular subject, and
I will not accept lengthy research projects or term papers. NOTE: ALLEXPERTS CLAIMS THAT I TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN AND FROM LATIN TO ENGLISH. I DO NOT. ALLEXPERTS REFUSES TO DELETE THE LATIN-TO-ENGLISH SERVICE -- ONE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE.
TRUST ME ON THIS: ALLEXPERTS IS WRONG. I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LANGUAGE. LOOK FOR A LANGUAGE EXPERT INSTEAD. ETYMOLOGY AND TRANSLATING SERVICES ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. ALLEXPERTS SHOULD KNOW THAT. ALLEXPERTS DOES NOT KNOW THAT. I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO GET THEM TO CHANGE. THEY WILL NOT. SORRY, BUT I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN.
Experience I am the bibliographic instruction and reference librarian at a public
college. My master's thesis concerns William Faulkner's tragic novels. I formerly taught advanced placement English at two schools in the Philadelphia area.
I have been a member of the grammar and writing section of Allexperts
for more than a year.
Education/Credentials Masters degrees in English, philosophy, and library science.
Question where does the phrase" drop your bundle" originate from?
Answer Dear Christine:
First, I am going to beg you to complete the evaluation form that will be attached to my answer. I am finding that more than 75% of the people to whom I send answers do not take the few seconds to rate my answers. When they don't complete the form, the question remains in my "inbox," as if I didn't answer it. I am going to leave Allexperts, because of this problem and the lack of appreciation from the people who ask questions, receive FREE answers, and do not acknowledge in any way that they have received the answers.
I have found the phrase in many slang and phrase dictionaries in our library. The most comprehensive source is "The Oxford English Dictionary [OED]," the "bible" of the etymological world. According to the OED, the phrase originated in Australia and New Zealand and is considered to be a slang expression. It means "to give up hope" or "to surrender" or "to accept defeat." The first known WRITTEN usage in the English language was in 1915, but it probably appeared in ORAL conversations long before that time. The complete citation from the OED is given below.
Incidentally, from the various dictionaries I searched, I learned that the phrase became part of American "lingo" during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when so many people felt "down and out" and hopeless. Their friends encouraged them NOT "to drop their bundles."
Ted Nesbitt
FROM "THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY" --
b. to drop one's bundle: to give up hope, surrender, resist or compete no further. Austral. and N.Z. slang.
1915 C. J. DENNIS Songs Sentim. Bloke (1916) 119 To drop the bundle, to surrender; to give up hope. 1928 Bulletin (Sydney) 7 Mar. 39/1 'E [a dog] wouldn't chase the 'are. 'E dropped 'is bundle. 1947 P. NEWTON Wayleggo (1949) X. 115 My confidence immediately disappeared. However, I could not ‘drop my bundle’, so into the jungle I went.
