What's In A Word?

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Some Men Are Born To Greatness

The word "crap," meaning excrement, is from the Old French, via Middle English, "crappe," which stood for the grain that was trodden underfoot in a barn.

Thomas Crapper did exist and he did improve, but not invent the flush toilet. He was an Englishman, 1837-1910, who invented the ball and suction device (British Patent # 4,990) found in modern toilets that allows an efficient flush with a minimum of water and also shuts off the flow to the tank once refilled. Toilets manufactured by his company bore the name "Crapper" prominently on them. This was a case where a fortuitously named man made a contribution, not a case of an eponym. The OED2 traces its use at least to 1846, in the phrase "crapping ken" meaning a water closet. Since Crapper did not start his company until 1861, it is obviously not the origin of the word.

In 1971, two years after writing an accurate book about Crapper, author Wallace Reyburn wrote "Bust Up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling and the Development of the Bra." This second book was a complete hoax. Titzling never existed.

Debunked: The word "crap" is an eponym for Thomas Crapper, the inventor of the flush toilet.

Debunked: Otto Titzling invented the brassiere.

References:

• AFU Archive: Sir Thomas Crapper
• The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition
• More of the Straight Dope, by Cecil Adams