Long years before radio gave Amos and Andy, and their pal, the Kingfish, to the American audience kingfish was a name bestowed upon any of several fish notable for size or importance.
It is for similar cause that king became the first element in such terms as kingbolt, kingpin, kingpost, king snake, kingwood, etc.

Related Posts
-
How Poisonous Is Snake Venom, What Is Snake Venom Made Of, and Can You Build a Tolerance to Arsenic? Snake venom is dangerous and should be treated with extreme caution and not ingested in any form. We have watched a Zambian snake expert, Major Alick Chanda, milk the venom from a live…
-
Where does the phrase “snake in the grass” originate and What does snake in the grass mean? We owe the proverbial saying "snake in the grass" to the Roman poet Vergil (70-19 B.c.). In the third Eclogue is the line Latet anguis in herba, "A snake lurks in the grass."…
-
How do Indian Snake Charmers get King Cobras to Dance and Sway to their Rhythms and what is the Name of the Instrument they use? It's a pretty impressive act, those snake charmers. From the cobra basket, the snake rises as the crowd shrinks back. The charmer plays his pungi, swaying to the music, and the snake undulates…
-
Where Did the Words Shindig, Shebang, and Shillelagh Come From and What Do the Irish Words Mean? A shindig, a shebang, and a shillelagh are all from Irish expressions. Shindig comes from the fighting Irishman's habit of digging the steel toe of his boot into his opponent's shins. Shebang is…
-
Where does the expression “weasel words” come from and What does “weasel words” mean? The phrase "weasel words" means: Slaps on the wrist; words that weaken or detract from the effectiveness or force of another word or expression. The expression is often erroneously accredited to Theodore Roosevelt.…
-
Where does the phrase “king’s evil” come from and What does king’s evil mean? The "evil," scrofula, was not possessed by a king, but, because the kings of France and those of England were all anointed with consecrated oil, it was formerly a popular belief that, merely…