I have always been interested in etymology, which can often provide interesting historical insights about whatever topic a word encompasses. Changes in language patterns in terms of the meaning and frequency of certain words can reveal much about a society’s cultural perception of a given issue.
Recently, I have been curious about the origins of the acronym NIMBY (“not in my backyard”). In popular parlance, “nimbies” are local residents who work to preserve the status quo of their neighborhoods by preventing commercial and residential construction. The acronym is most commonly reserved today for the “neighborhood defenders” who impede the construction of
