Why is a large, bewildering catalogue of names called a “laundry list,” and why are such lists at the roots of writing?
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/laundry-list-apotheosis
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Love the idea of to-do lists being one of the formational motivations for writing.
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Excellent article, a “laundry list” is an idiom that most people know. But as for me, I had no idea where it came from; unlike other idioms (e.g. “in for a penny in for a pound”) the words themselves are meaningless unless you washed your clothes at a hotel 50 years ago.