On 2018-11-07 1:33 PM, Nichael Cramer wrote:
> I recently learned that the origin of the term "fiasco"
> is Italian for, roughly, "bottle".   More specifically
> it is that round-bottomed bottle that you often
> see in movies, being held in a wicker basket,
> and typically filled with wine:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiasco_(bottle)
>
> (Furthermore, the phrase "far fiasco" --i.e. "to make a bottle---
> is an Italian idiom for "to make a mistake".)
>
> I'm not sure if anyone is sure how this term took
> on its current meaning in English, but perhaps we might
> look no further than imagining the bottle filled with Chianti
> to connect it to Ed's description of "a disaster of
> mythic proportions". 

I think it's straightforward. Imagine a round-bottomed bottle full of 
wine, without it's straw wrap. If you uncork and drink it all at one go, 
you'll have a fiasco. OTOH, if you pour yourself a glass and set the 
bottle down on a table, you'll have a fiasco as well. There's no way 
around it. Ifyou hold the bottle in your lap, you'll ultimately have an 
embarrassing fiasco. The possibilities are endless...

FWIW

Don

-- 
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