Bon Mots

“Moxie originated as a patent medicine called ‘Moxie Nerve Food,’” Really? That’s what wikipedia says about the word moxie. Maybe you knew that, but I sure didn’t. I thought moxie meant courage or spunk. I thought it was similar to gumption. And that’s also correct. But I wasn’t prepared to learn that according to the online etymology dictionary, Moxie is also the “brand name of a bitter, non-alcoholic drink, 1885, perhaps as far back as 1876 as the name of a patent medicine advertised to “build up your nerve;” despite legendary origin stories put out by the company that made it, it is perhaps ultimately from a New England Indian word (it figures in river and lake names in Maine, where it is apparently from Abenaki and means “dark water”).” Did you know that? I always thought it would be cool if someone referred to me as having moxie. But “dark water”? Maybe not. Who do you picture when you hear the word moxie? Nancy Drew and Maisie Dobbs come to mind for me.