| cat herder | 27 May 2014 9:42 a.m. PST |
Hi all, but especially to my American brethren. Can anyone tell me why some/all Americans refer to a cup of coffee as a cup of Joe. Thanks for any answers, all the best…CH |
| Texas Jack | 27 May 2014 9:45 a.m. PST |
I think it has something to do with coffee also being called java, and so the j from there just goes naturally to Joe. Kind of like cockney rhyming slang, but different. 
Now I am looking forward to the other interpretations! |
| cloudcaptain | 27 May 2014 9:52 a.m. PST |
JJ, I heard it came into play too late for Joesphus's ban. The story I hear is it was the common man's drink. "Joe" was the generic "everyman" name at the time. Still…the original story is better :) |
| VonTed | 27 May 2014 10:01 a.m. PST |
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| cat herder | 27 May 2014 10:07 a.m. PST |
Hi all, thanks very much for the feedback, Von Ted thanks very much for a laugh out loud moment. All the best chaps…CH. |
| John the OFM | 27 May 2014 10:09 a.m. PST |
Thanks for any answers… Do they have to be accurate? |
| cat herder | 27 May 2014 10:15 a.m. PST |
Hi John, no need for them to be accurate, just as long as they're friendly and people who should be civil to one another don't fall out over trivia. Best wishes..CH. |
| tberry7403 | 27 May 2014 10:15 a.m. PST |
And here's another one: "Cup of joe" is an American nickname for coffee. The phrase goes back to the mid-1840s, and is of unclear origin, though it is possibly short for "Old Black Joe," the title of a popular Stephen Foster song. |
| Pizzagrenadier | 27 May 2014 10:28 a.m. PST |
When in doubt, go with Stephen Foster. |
| cloudcaptain | 27 May 2014 11:23 a.m. PST |
I am already spoken for. Stephen will have to look elsewhere. |
 miniMo  | 27 May 2014 3:01 p.m. PST |
Also possible shortening of Cup Of Jamoke (Java + Mocha). |
| Bashytubits | 27 May 2014 4:50 p.m. PST |
In the spirit of this post and the release of the new Godzilla movie.
You can't see it but he has a cup of coffee in his hand, claw, hook, mitt, whatever…. |
| Henry Martini | 27 May 2014 7:11 p.m. PST |
Had, I'd say; hence the 'assisted' smile of his reptilian companion. I imagine it's hard to be cheerful with a cup of hot 'Joe' streaming down your back. As a potentially interesting side-note, during the gold rush in 1850s Victoria the police were known to the diggers by the epithet 'Joe'. When they appeared in force for a license check round-up, the cry 'Joe!' would echo around the goldfields. I think the term derived from the name of the Governor, Sir Joseph Latrobe. |
paints piebald and skewbald horses.
