What are the origins of the term ‘shady’. As in, ‘he was a shady character’?
It is likely that its genesis was in Ancient Rome where it was believed that people of quality spent their time in the sun.
Life in the shade was an easier, less exposed life. It was viewed as a second best life.
The active politician, the soldier and administrator lived in the sun and the dust.
Virtue, as an entity, was seen as being, among other things, dusty and sunburnt.
Moving into the 20th century, the famed English writer Somerset Maugham said that the Principality of Monte Carlo on the Mediterranean - once part of the Western Roman Empire - was "a sunny place for shady people".
Painting is by English artist John William Waterhouse, from 1883, The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius.
It depicts the Western Roman Emperor feeding birds, which are on a rug in front of him, perhaps suggesting an indoor, decadent, less valuable lifestyle.
Source: Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome by J P V D Balsdon
#history #AncientRome
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