Merry Widow name origin?

PDX

PDX

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I, as many others before me and many afterward, have wondered where the term "Merry Widow" comes from. Well, I still don't have that information, but while purusing Chris's "The Palmer Collector" website, I noticed that in the 1914 Brunswick catalog they have a "Merry Widow" for sale.

http://www.palmercollector.com/Brunswick/BruswickCollectorColorPlates.html

For some reason I recall a old short story that I read about a guy out all night drinking and gambling on pool with his wife, who most called a widow, at home. I am pretty sure that she was called a widow since he was never home. Maybe I'm on to something or maybe not.
 

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maybe?

The term comes from when a player like myself that recieves such a great playing cue. He's "MERRY" and at the same time his wife never ever sees him again cause he's always playing pool so she basically becomes a "WIDOW" to him.
Hence the term merry widow

or it could be derived from the greek words
Marywood-which means tree that is happy to die for a cue
and
Widowbago-something that tours the country

which means you have a cue your happy to tour with

remember the internet never lies
 
FWIW, I've seen people refer to both plain cues (merry widows) and fancy cues as Sneaky Petes.
 
ctyhntr said:
FWIW, I've seen people refer to both plain cues (merry widows) and fancy cues as Sneaky Petes.
Click to expand...

They may do so now, they didn't used to. When I started playing seriously in early seventies it referred to plain cues only.
 
I too googled the term "Merry Widow" hoping to find an answer to it's origin and came up with the same mix. I then asked the same question on "Ask the Cuemaker" and got this answer from Varney (which is as good an answer that you'll be getting) :

03-22-2010, 09:34 PM

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A long, long time ago in a land not so far away lived a poolplayer and his wife. One day they heard the all too familiar sound of horses being slowed to a stop. Peeking out the window they realized it was the Fed Ex wagon. It was a joyous day as he now had his custom cue in his hands. It was a plain jane cue with exceptional woods & the most monster of hits. His hands trembled with excitement as screwed the beast together....all the while his wife hurriedly cleared the chickens off the billiard table in the back yard. It was time to test his new pride & joy! Sadly he only needed to pot one ball to know without doubt this beast was the definition of heart stopping performance. Not sure if it was the short ferrule or the illegal hole that had been bored to lighten the shafts end mass...whatever the cause...he fell dead in his tracks. His wife stricken with grief managed to snatch up his cue before a single chicken could roost. The poor woman had lost her husband for a final time to that fickle mistress called Pool. Being a widow was not as bad as it seemed though...for she had a smile on her face as she slid her now new cue into her weathered Barton case. This most monster of plain janes was all hers now...and this alone made her a "merry widow".


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Play with a VARNEY or get beat by one!
.45acp...when you care enough to send the very best!
Cash ain't heavy...carry some!
 
When hearing the word combination "merry widow", human imagination will possibly develop a range of associations. The primary of the associations will of course be the commonly spread modern merry widow concept.

In order to discover the source of the interesting name it is necessary to turn to the sphere of the theatre and art with which merry widow history is tightly intertwined. In fact merry widow history draws its roots from the universally known operetta that has captured the imagination of millions of people from the date it was first shown. Merry widow is widely associated with a kind of lingerie and there are rather few people who know exactly where the original name of the style came from.

The secret of the Merry widow charm lies in the playful romance, light music and skilful dancing. It is all of the above that made every performance of The Merry Widow very spectacular and therefore heavily attended. (late 1800's & early 1900's)

The merry widow has hit the chart of favorites and it has retained some of its former popularity even to modern days. Merry widow history is connected with the story of romance and the obstacles that two loving hearts are faced with.
 
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Merry Widow

PDX,
Thanks so much for posting this link. Very cool. Some of these cues are the ones that Caras, Mosconi and the likes played with early on. Very cool.
 
ArizonaPete said:
I too googled the term "Merry Widow" hoping to find an answer to it's origin and came up with the same mix. I then asked the same question on "Ask the Cuemaker" and got this answer from Varney (which is as good an answer that you'll be getting) :

03-22-2010, 09:34 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A long, long time ago in a land not so far away lived a poolplayer and his wife. One day they heard the all too familiar sound of horses being slowed to a stop. Peeking out the window they realized it was the Fed Ex wagon. It was a joyous day as he now had his custom cue in his hands. It was a plain jane cue with exceptional woods & the most monster of hits. His hands trembled with excitement as screwed the beast together....all the while his wife hurriedly cleared the chickens off the billiard table in the back yard. It was time to test his new pride & joy! Sadly he only needed to pot one ball to know without doubt this beast was the definition of heart stopping performance. Not sure if it was the short ferrule or the illegal hole that had been bored to lighten the shafts end mass...whatever the cause...he fell dead in his tracks. His wife stricken with grief managed to snatch up his cue before a single chicken could roost. The poor woman had lost her husband for a final time to that fickle mistress called Pool. Being a widow was not as bad as it seemed though...for she had a smile on her face as she slid her now new cue into her weathered Barton case. This most monster of plain janes was all hers now...and this alone made her a "merry widow".


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Play with a VARNEY or get beat by one!
.45acp...when you care enough to send the very best!
Cash ain't heavy...carry some!
Click to expand...


Great story ArizonaPete I almost cried. I'm rolling with your story from here on out.
 
ArizonaPete said:
A long, long time ago in a land not so far away lived a poolplayer and his wife. One day they heard the all too familiar sound of horses being slowed to a stop. Peeking out the window they realized it was the Fed Ex wagon. It was a joyous day as he now had his custom cue in his hands. It was a plain jane cue with exceptional woods & the most monster of hits. His hands trembled with excitement as screwed the beast together....all the while his wife hurriedly cleared the chickens off the billiard table in the back yard. It was time to test his new pride & joy! Sadly he only needed to pot one ball to know without doubt this beast was the definition of heart stopping performance. Not sure if it was the short ferrule or the illegal hole that had been bored to lighten the shafts end mass...whatever the cause...he fell dead in his tracks. His wife stricken with grief managed to snatch up his cue before a single chicken could roost. The poor woman had lost her husband for a final time to that fickle mistress called Pool. Being a widow was not as bad as it seemed though...for she had a smile on her face as she slid her now new cue into her weathered Barton case. This most monster of plain janes was all hers now...and this alone made her a "merry widow".
Click to expand...

This, forever more, is the official story of the Merry Widow! Too funny.

Chris
 
Nice storys..I was just wondering..are the components or materials that make up the " Merry Widow " from a widow maker...lol
 
And?

Beware_of_Dawg said:
When hearing the word combination "merry widow", human imagination will possibly develop a range of associations. The primary of the associations will of course be the commonly spread modern merry widow concept.
there are rather few people who know exactly where the original name of the style came from.
.
Click to expand...

WELL,Dawg, who are these effing ,"few," people who know? I already put 2 hours into this and if you know you better effing well tell me!:banghead::crying::help:
 
I thought the term came from the fact that, traditionally, a cue's forearm is pointed (two woods 'married' together, if you will) and a merry widow is a players cue content to be made of a singular piece of wood.
 
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