Q: Where did the saying
”
the real McCoy
”
come from?
Q: Where did the saying “the real McCoy” come from?
A: Like most of the questions we receive, this one has no definitive answer, but two strong contenders emerge.
“The real MacKay,” an advertising slogan that appeared on a brand of Scottish whiskey in 1856 is said to have evolved into the saying “the real McCoy” stateside, according to ask.yahoo.com. The other widely reported idea comes from Bill McCoy, a real-life bootlegger during Prohibition. McCoy smuggled real alcohol over the U.S.-Canada border and, thus, the theory goes, real alcohol became “the real McCoy.”
Other explanations center on a sports figure, Norman Shelby, who boxed under the name “Kid McCoy.” A victim felled by his blows supposedly shouted, “It’s the real
McCoy!” Also, there’s the story about engineer Elijah McCoy, who created a self-regulating lubricator that went on to revolutionize the machine and railroad industries. The parts manufactured by his competitors were supposedly so faulty, only McCoy’s were trusted, according to the site.
– By Melania Zaharopoulos,
Staff Writer
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