The word "guy" didn't originally just mean a generic man. It comes from Guy Fawkes, the infamous Englishman who was part of the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, an attempt to blow up Parliament.
After the plot was foiled, people started burning effigies of him on Guy Fawkes Night (November 5th). These crude effigies were called "guys", and the term gradually became slang for anyone dressed oddly or looking suspicious. Over time, it lost the negative connotation and broadened to mean any male person—and eventually, in American English, it became a casual way to refer to anyone, male or female: "Hey guys!"
So yeah, blame Guy Fawkes for why you're a “guy.”
Guy Fawkes trivia
- Bob Juch
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Guy Fawkes trivia
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.