American English Take-Home Exam
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maverick – The modern definition of maverick (“an unusual person who has different ideas and
ways of behaving from other people, and is often very successful”) differs somewhat from the
original meaning of “calf or yearling found without an owner's brand", derived in 1867 from
Samuel A. Maverick, Texas cattle owner who was known for not branding his calves. The sense
of "individualist, unconventional person" was first recorded 1886.
OK – The orgin of the super popular Americansim OK is widely disputed. There is a theory that
OK was first used by Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. According to
another theory, the term came from the election slogan by the O.K. Club, boosters of Martin Van
Buren's 1840 re-election bid, referencing to his nickname Old Kinderhook. Third theory is that
OK was spelled out as okeh in 1919 by Woodrow Wilson, supposedly representing Chocotaw
okeh “it is so”. However, the earliest known usage of OK is from 1839
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