Q: Where did the expression
”
cup o’ Joe
”
come from?
Q: Where did the expression “cup o’ Joe” come from?
A: Unfortunately, readers, there’s no definitive answer to this question. Rather, there are several theories.
The word “Joe” first appeared as slang for coffee in the 1930s. Some say it’s a variant of the word “Java,” as in the island of Java, Indonesia, where much of the world’s coffee came from at that time.
Another theory relates it to a popular song of the time called “Old Black Joe,” writes Evan Morris, a syndicated columnist, word sleuth and author of “The Word Detective” and “From Altoids to Zima: The surprising stories behind 125 famous brand names.”
The most likely explanation Morris was able to set forth was that “cup of Joe” derived from the popular use of “Joe” as a term meaning “the common man.” The saying “regular Joe” dates back to 1911, according to the author, and became widely used during World War I in the term “G.I. Joe,” a slang term for the common soldier.
Perhaps, asserts Morris, the term for an average guy came to represent the average guy’s beverage, too, but Naval historians have another explanation for the term.
The name, according to the Navy Office of Information, came from a rather unpopular decision by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels (May 18, 1862 – January 15, 1948).
Appointed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, Daniels’ claims to fame include introducing women into the service and beginning the practice of making 100 fleet sailors eligible for Naval Academy entrance each year. However, he was not appreciated for one decision: Abolishing the officers’ wine mess.
After Daniels quashed the practice of drinking aboard the ship, the strongest drink on board became coffee, which, over the years, took on the name “a cup of Joe.”
