octothorpe

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The Word of the Day for November 9 is:=20

octothorpe   \AHK-tuh-thorp\   noun
          : the symbol #

Example sentence:
          Barry noticed the pound sign on the telephone and remarked abo=
ut how much the octothorpe resembled a tic-tac-toe grid.

Did you know?
          Stories abound about who first called the # sign an "octothorp=
e" (which can also be spelled =E2=80=9Coctothorp=E2=80=9D). Most of thos=
e tales link the name to various telephone workers in the 1960s, and all=
 claim the "octo-" part refers to the eight points on the symbol, but th=
e "thorpe" remains a mystery. One story links it to a telephone company =
employee who happened to burp while talking about the symbol with co-wor=
kers. Another relates it to the athlete Jim Thorpe, and a third claims i=
t derives from an Old English word for =E2=80=9Cvillage.=E2=80=9D If the=
 plethora of theories leaves your head spinning, you might want to take =
the advice of the wag who asked (poetically), "Can we simply just say, /=
 Ere it spoils your day, / It's the thorp between seven and nine?"





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