Knife „on a long leash“

Names, as we know, are secondary and should not be overrated. Yet, at this point, a question arises as to the meaning and origin – namely in the case of “Zicou”.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about: Zicou is a new cutting knife holder from the company’s Rajapackwhich is at least as cunning as its name implies. The Zicou is made of metal and is a sort of long leash that you can tie your cutting knife to. It works as follows: you attach your cutting knife to the Zicou and then the Zicou to your belt. The Zicou and the knife are connected by a metal cable about a metre long, which unwinds or winds up according to the range of movement. In this way the knife is always handy attached to the side and thus not easily lost. If the Zicou did not already exist, this handy helper would undoubtedly have to be invented. But how, pray, did it get its name?

To tell the truth, despite intensive searching, I can provide no answer here. I don’t know the meaning of the word Zicou, nor do I have any idea why the inventors called it Zicou. If anyone knows, please let me know promptly!

But a short and vigorous sound brought me to another clue: does anyone remember Zico, the “white Pelé”? Many people consider this Brazilian football star to be the most talented midfielder of all time. My point: Zico was an artistic name. Zico’s real name was Arthur Antunes Coimbra. But that was too complicated for teammates and commentators. Zico was shorter, more expressive and more practical.

And maybe it’s the same with Zico: a short and clever name for a similar case of “Pass me the Zico” is better said than ” Pass me that new attachment ring for the cutting knife with the unwinding strap”. So basically similar to Zico.

Author: JR, Rajapack