The colour of a squashed flea
Nov. 21st, 2006 06:53 pmA friend told me in e-mail today that his condo association was threatening to make him paint his walls puce, and it got me to thinking about why "puce" is such a funny word. Is it because it sounds like "puke"? Maybe, but then I idly googled it, as you do, and of course quickly arrived at the Wikipedia entry. I had no idea, for instance, that "puce" derives from the French word for flea. "It is speculated that it refers to the colour of a squashed flea or the colour of a flea full of blood."
Hm. Paint your walls in squashed fleas? I'm afraid the very suggestion turns me positively chartreuse.
Hm. Paint your walls in squashed fleas? I'm afraid the very suggestion turns me positively chartreuse.