doozy (also spelled: doozie or doosie)
informal US

- something that is very special or unusual

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

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ORIGIN

One of the more popular theories regarding the origin of “doozy” is the early 20th century American car manufacturer Duesenberg, which was called “Duesy” for short. Started by two German brothers, Frederick and August Duesenberg, the company produced luxury automobiles from 1913 to 1937.

A distinctive feature of the Duesenberg was the bowtie style front bumper, which used two pieces of steel, with the top piece bent to resemble a bowtie. The cars were highly sought after by celebrities and gangsters alike. After being acquired in 1926 by E.L. Cord, the owner of Auburn Automobile, the company eventually went bankrupt in 1937 and ceased production.

Since the word doozy had already appeared prior to the creation of the Duesenberg however, most etymology experts reject this theory. Instead, some believe it stems from the flower named daisy, since this word was slang for “excellent, very appealing” in the 18th and 19th centuries.

To support this idea, others have pointed out that during this time the famous Italian actress Elenora Duse first appeared in New York. She became famous in the U.S. during a triumphant tour in 1896. The suggestion is that “daisy” and “Duse” combined to evolve into “doozy” to describe something excellent or out of the ordinary.

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SYNONYMS

beaut, beauty, bee’s knees, cat’s meow, corker, crackerjack, daisy, dandy, dream, honey, hot stuff, humdinger, hummer, jim-dandy, knockout, lollapalooza, nifty, peach, pip, pippin, ripper, ripsnorter, snorter, standout

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PRACTICE OWAD in an English conversation, discuss something like:

“Just wait, our updated product will be a real DOOZY!”

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Thanks to Harald for suggesting today’s word!

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Paul Smith