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You are here: Home / Language / Where does the word “Firecracker” come from and What does Firecracker mean?

Where does the word “Firecracker” come from and What does Firecracker mean?

February 10, 2020 by Karen Hill

England knows the firecracker, which is a jubilant explosive, as merely a cracker, though if part of a pyrotechnic display, such as a set piece, it is there, as here, a firework.

Both terms have been in use from the sixteenth century.

But with us, especially with a child, a cracker is first of all something to be eaten, harmlessly known as biscuit in England.

Consequently the paper tube containing gunpowder which explodes with a bang when fire is applied became, naturally enough, a firecracker to American childhood from at least the early nineteenth century.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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