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The Puzzler

New Puzzler: Peasant Shoe Uprising

RAY: All right. Here's the puzzler. The puzzler has to do with the birth of a word.

TOM: M-m-m. Very good.

RAY: You ready?

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: Now, I don't have all the facts straight.

TOM: But, I'm sure you'll make them up.

RAY: And, I've realized what -- this may be a --

TOM: I'll help you. I don't know what you're talking about.

RAY: I know that.

TOM: But, I'll help you as much as I can.

RAY: And, I realize that I'm no longer afraid to be stupid. I've stared stupidity right in the face -- mostly by looking in the mirror -- and it doesn't bother me anymore.

TOM: It doesn't scare you anymore.

RAY: So, when somebody says, `You're nuts, we don't know where you got this information. It's ridiculous.' I don't care.

TOM: No, why should you? Go ahead.

RAY: During the 19th century, disgruntled French peasants -- this was the beginning of the disgruntlement movement of French workers, in general -- I mean, French workers are renowned for going on strike at the drop of a croissant --

TOM: Tell me about it.

RAY: -- would go into the fields of the landlords -- these are peasants that work the fields, grew the crops, harvested, sowed and harvested the crops -- and would trample said crops to show their discontent or disdain with the way they were being treated by these landlords --

TOM: Wooo, yeah.

RAY: -- and, they would trample the crops wearing their wooden peasant shoes.

TOM: Wow.

RAY: Out of this behavior, a new word was born, and, of course, has entered not just the French vocabulary, but the English vocabulary as well and is a very common word. A word that you could hear everyday.

TOM: I know the answer.

RAY: Go ahead.

TOM: Cabernet sauvignon. How am I doin'?

RAY: There ya go.

TOM: Is that it?

RAY: That's it. So, what is this word --

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