Mocktail

This silly-sounding word for a cocktail made without alcohol hit the scene during the early 1980s. We blame ol' Mr. Pussyfoot for the term. Had his behavior been more appealing during the early 1900s, such drinks would have garnered a more respectable name early on.

No better remembered by his real name, politician William Eugene Smith developed such a reputation for his rantings about the virtues of teetotaling that many people began calling him "pussyfoot." The word's original meaning as indecisive or weak was soon applied to drinks made with little or no liquor. The oldest "dry" cocktail is, in fact, called the Pussyfoot.

During the early '30s, the no more desirable name of Shirley Temple came about as a more wholesome name for a drink even a child could enjoy. In retrospect, maybe mocktail isn't so bad.