I Play the Fox

Pondering the weighty matter of my pending trip to Ireland, the word "shenanigans" came to mind. An appropriate Irish word, I thought, one that provided levity to my gathering angst. Though the word may have quelled my concerns, it is, alas, of American origin, having first appeared in print in the mid-19th Century in San Fransisco around the time of the California Gold Rush, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Nevertheless, shenanigans, and the mischief it denotes, may very well have been inspired by the Irish. According to Webster's New World Dictionary, Fourth Edition, the word is possibly derived from the Gaelic term "sionnachuighim." Translation: I play the fox.