Well, I suppose if Mencken said it...
Posted by Terry Oglesby at April 14, 2005 11:44 AMActually, Mencken said it only as one of the more likely of several possible alternative etymologies; he didn't claim that it was the One Final Truth. See "The American Language," fourth edition, pp. 110-111.
(WARNING: If you enjoy the history and details of American English, DO NOT start reading Mencken's "American Language" if you have something else you need to be doing.)