Sunday, February 23, 2014

Drawing room

This morning I encountered the term "drawing room" in an article, and for the first time wondered where this came from. Luckily, there is such a thing as Wikipedia (to which I'd leave most of my money, if I had any). Here's the scoop:
In a large sixteenth- to early eighteenth-century English house, a withdrawing room was a room to which the owner of the house, his wife, or a distinguished guest who was occupying one of the main apartments in the house could "withdraw" for more privacy.
And then it was shortened with the passage of time, as many things are. Seriously, what would we do without Wikipedia? Change your will today to add Wikipedia as a beneficiary.