Where did the term "water-carrying" originate from?

[GreenPartyVoter]

[orpupilofnature57]

1. From a Politician trying to ingratiate himself with farmers? Good analogy

[nookiemonster]

2. From word detective

Dear Word Detective: I have been seeing the phrase "to carry water" on a large number of mostly political weblogs, generally used in a pejorative sense to imply that the person referred to is a lackey or toady to a bad person or for an unrighteous cause, as in "Alan Colmes, despite his liberal ethos, continues to carry water for Sean Hannity." What's the origin of the phrase "to carry water," and how did it come by its present connotations? -- Wendy Woolpert.

Good question. From my limited exposure to the Hannity-Colmes TV show on Fox News, I gather that Mr. Colmes at some point misinterpreted Rodney Dangerfield's "no respect" comedy routines as serious career advice. I hope the dude isn't getting paid by the word, because his contributions to their political debates seem to consist of little more than "But Sean... But Sean...."

"To carry someone's water" does indeed mean to occupy a subservient position, to do the bidding, the menial tasks, and frequently the dirty work, of a more powerful person, and is most often used in a political context. A junior member of Congress, for instance, who calls a press conference to vigorously denounce criticisms of party elders might be said to be "carrying water" for those criticized. The implication of "carrying someone's water" is that the underling is acting not on personal initiative but at the behest, either explicit or perceived, of more powerful figures. To describe a person as "carrying water for" someone else is pejorative and a subjective judgment, implying that the person is acting only as a proxy for a more important person, so one person's "water carrier" may well be another's "loyal ally."

"To carry someone's water" seems to have appeared in the late 1970s in the figurative sense in which it is now most often used, and almost certainly sprang from sports, where the position of "water boy," charged with catering to the players' comfort (including supplying them with water and the like), is the lowest rung in the team hierarchy.

However, inasmuch as "carrying someone's water" implies that the water carrier agrees with and supports the more powerful person, I'm doubtful that the term can fairly be applied to Alan Colmes, who seems to disagree, however ineffectually, with Sean Hannity most of the time.

[donco6]

4. This is a riot!

Very accurate and so very, very droll!

[jeff30997]

5. Sean Hannity is a horse-pee carrier for the Bushies.

[nookiemonster]

7. LOL...

I didn't even realize the connotation when I pasted it.

So true. Hehe..

[NMDemDist2]

3. according to the word detective....

"To carry someone's water" does indeed mean to occupy a subservient position, to do the bidding, the menial tasks, and frequently the dirty work, of a more powerful person, and is most often used in a political context. A junior member of Congress, for instance, who calls a press conference to vigorously denounce criticisms of party elders might be said to be "carrying water" for those criticized. The implication of "carrying someone's water" is that the underling is acting not on personal initiative but at the behest, either explicit or perceived, of more powerful figures. To describe a person as "carrying water for" someone else is pejorative and a subjective judgment, implying that the person is acting only as a proxy for a more important person, so one person's "water carrier" may well be another's "loyal ally."

"To carry someone's water" seems to have appeared in the late 1970s in the figurative sense in which it is now most often used, and almost certainly sprang from sports, where the position of "water boy," charged with catering to the players' comfort (including supplying them with water and the like), is the lowest rung in the team hierarchy.

However, inasmuch as "carrying someone's water" implies that the water carrier agrees with and supports the more powerful person,

http://www.word-detective.com/072104.html

[rfranklin]

6. I think it was Gunga Din who gave the phrase meaning....

He carried water for his British masters, betraying his own best interests. This is a characteristic of rank-and-file "conservatives." They have been trained to think of themselves as conservatives based on propaganda that directs their fear and anger away from their masters (who exploit them shamelessly) and toward people who do them no harm and may actually help their situation.

[ThomWV]

8. Read The End

Read the end to see the respect that can be had for a waterboy:

Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Tho' I've belted you an' flayed you,
By the livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

[keith the dem]

9. "Stars and Watercarriers" was a movie

about the 1973 Tour of Italy cycling race. Cycling as in the Tour of Italy or the Tour de France is very much a team sport. If you watched any of the OLN coverage of the Tour de France, You would have seen the extreme amount of work his team did to protect him and keep him comfortable- chasing down breakaways, providing a draft, and yes, carrying his water. This teammate called a "domestique" or watercarrier will drop back to the team car that drives just behind the pack. The rider will pick up an enormous amount of bottles, shoving them in his pockets and down the back of his jersey. the rider will then catch up to his team and his team's star and distribute the water.

[Trillo]

10. Pregnancy?

Just a guess.