Backlog

Backlog

From Alexis Madrigal’s excellent “5 Intriguing Things” newsletter (subscribe here):

Today’s 1957 American English Usage Tip:

backlog. orig. US (the large log placed in the hearth fire as a reserve), in its fig. use as reserve, support, is established in US commercial language, & is widely used elsewhere. Other est. Americanisms are backtrack, backwoods, &c.

Yes, the original backlog was a log.