Did You Know a ‘Butt Load’ Is an Actual Measurement?

This is too funny. This means when you use this term as a slang phrase to say "a large amount," emphasizing the number of something in a more dramatic, colorful way, you're actually giving a real measurement, which is probably technically wrong.

Not that you care.

However, when you use it next time, you'll think of it differently.

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology website (NIST), the term comes from a measurement literally called a butt. It's an old English unit of measurement that referred to a large cask used for storing liquids, typically wine or ale.

So how much is a butt? What are you saying when you say there was a butt load of people or you ate a butt load of food?

A butt could hold about 126 gallons. So technically, a “butt load” means a volume of liquid that fits in a butt cask. The term is still used as a form of measurement today, but that's when we use it to mean a large quantity without referring to a specific amount.

Gotta love slang.

According to NIST,  a butt isn't the only quirky form of measurement. While feet, ounces, yards, and meters are standard, they certainly aren't as colorful sounding.

Nibble or Crumb

Taking a nibble of that brownie and then wiping up the crumbs comes to mind with these two words, but when it comes to a unit of measurement, they were created from the byte in computers.

While a byte is eight bits of computer information, a nibble is four, and a crumb is two. Now you can impress your computer engineer friends.

Cow-Calf Unit 

This measurement estimates how much land you need to provide food (in the form of grass and other plants) for a beef cow with a calf at its feet. It's still used today.

It's meant to compare the food requirements for different types of livestock such as goats (typically an eighth of a cow-calf unit), pigs (one-fourth) and alpacas (one-tenth).

Noggin

While this is slang for your head or brain, you're actually drinking a half-pint of something when you're drinking your noggin. It's not used anymore but what fun to order a noggin of beer at your favorite bar and see what happens.