Sunday Rest: garbo. Word Not To Use Today.

All words are dangerous, but some are more dangerous than others.

For instance, to call a lady a garbo in most parts of the world is to imply that she is beautiful, formidable, and enigmatic.


Greta Garbo. Photo by Ruth Harriet Louise. Publicity shot for Wild Orchids, 1929.

If you're in Australia, or talking to an Australian, however, you'd be calling her a refuse collector.

Like I say, dangerous.

Word Not To Use Today: garbo. Greta Garbo's surname was originally Gustafsson. Garbo, as in refuse collector, is to do with the word garbage. Where the word garbage comes from isn't known, but there's a lovely Old Italian word garbulio, which means confusion, which might have something to do with it.