--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "dgkilday57" <dgkilday57@...> wrote:
>
> I don't know squat about Arabic philology, but Arabic
> DGK
>
Interesting, "I don't know squat".
thefreedictionary.com :
6. Slang A small or worthless amount; diddlysquat
Further down: synonomous to "you don't know jack"
Etymology: ultimately from Latin "coactire".
It so happens that in Swedish the expression is "jag vet inte ett
skvatt" ("je ne sais goutte").
According to Hellquist "skvatt" is related to the verb "skvätta",
splash.
Is this "I don't know squat" really related to the sense "put oneself
into a crouching position"? Or is there another old word meaning "to
splash (water), a splash (of water)"?
Q for Anglicists.
Lars