Namely, 137

NAMELY

eponyms (EP-uh-nimz)

words based on or derived from a person's name.

First Known Use: mid-19^th century

“What’s in a Name?”

Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, 2.2­

137: Zeppelin: a dirigible balloon (from Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, 1838–1917, German general and aeronautical pioneer who developed the first balloon with propellers that was dirigible (directable); first known use, 1896)

Aboard that fateful Zeppelin—

The dude slipped me a Mickey Finn.

But as we fell in deadly flame,

I thought about that “Mickey” name.

“Where did it come from?” I inquired.

But no one answered: We’d been fired.

So I went to my fiery death

With “Mickey Finn” on my last breath.*

*Possibly from a 1903 American saloon keeper who allegedly drugged his customers; first known use, 1918. See earlier doggerel about Mickey.

PENULTIMATE DOGGEREL IN THIS SERIES!