Whether you’re planning a friend’s surprise party (fun!) or casing the local bank for an upcoming heist (bad!), you may find yourself in cahoots. This phrase is a way “to describe people or groups working together or making plans together in secret.” The definition is likely familiar, but the origin of the word “cahoots” is more mysterious.
We know the word “cahoots” dates to the 1820s, but there are conflicting origin stories. Merriam-Webster says it’s possibly derived from the French cahute, meaning “cabin” or “hut.” The imagery of people tucked away in a cabin, conspiring in secret, may be the origin of “in cahoots” as we know it today.
However, John Russell Bartlett posed a different possible origin story in the 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms. The reference states “cahoot” is “probably from cohort, Spanish and French, defined … as ‘a company, a band.’” A third theory offered by linguist Ben Zimmer suggests it’s derived from “cahot” or “cahoo” — an old New England regionalism that came from Canadian French, referring to a pothole or obstacle in the road.
Whatever the origin may be, “in cahoots” has since become a widely used Americanism, perfect for passing whispered secrets and making confidential plans.
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