Groovy (pronounced groo-vee)
(1) Of,
pertaining to, or having grooves.
(2) Set
in one's ways (obsolete).
(3) Cool,
neat, interesting, fashionable, highly stimulating or attractive; excellent. (used
in the 1940s and then more frequently in the 1960s and 1970s; now dated but
often used ironically).
(4) Inclined
to follow a fixed routine (obsolete).
(5) A programming language for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), now under the auspices of the Apache Software Foundation.
1853: The construct was groove + -y. Groove was from the Middle English grov, grove, groof & grofe (cave;
pit; mining shaft), from the Old English grōf
(trench, furrow, something dug), from the Proto-Germanic grōbō (groove, furrow”, from the primitive Indo-European ghrebh- (to dig, scrape, bury). It was cognate with the Dutch groef & groeve (groove; pit, grave), the German Grube (ditch, pit), the Norwegian grov (brook, riverbed) & the Serbo-Croatian grèbati (scratch, dig). The earlier form in Old English was grafan (to dig) and from here there’s a
lineal descent to groove and, at some point, a fork led to “grave”. The –y suffix was from the Middle English –y & -i, from the Old English -iġ
(-y, & -ic”, suffix), from the Proto-Germanic -īgaz (-y, -ic), from the primitive Indo-European -kos, -ikos & -iḱos (-y, -ic).
It was cognate with the Scots -ie
(-y), the West Frisian -ich (-y), the
Dutch -ig (-y), the Low German -ig (-y),
the German -ig (-y), the Swedish -ig (-y), the Latin -icus (-y, -ic) and the Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós); doublet of -ic.
Groovy was first noted in 1853 in the metal working trades as a literal descriptor of the surface texture of metals and evolved into the general sense of “of or pertaining to a groove” and oral (either a dialectic form or specific to metal working) use may pre-date 1853. One colloquial figurative sense was "having a tendency to routine, inclined to a specialized and narrow way of life or thought", attested from 1882 and linked to the idea of a grove being “something permanent, static and unchanging”. That sense died out and the next figurative use was entirely different. The alternative spelling groovey is achingly rare. Groovy is a noun and adjective, grooviness is a noun and groovier & grooviest are adjectives; the noun plural is groovies. The reason why English never evolved to create ungroovy or nongroovy is there were already number of words adequately to convey the idea, the one most associated with the 1960s counter-culture being "square" which used to convey the quality of "someone honorable & upright". It's possible the purloining of "square" was developed from the familiar "straightlaced" although the eighteenth century "squaretoe" was an epithet applied to disparage the "prim & proper"; this later form is though unrelated to the hippies' use of "square".
The slang
sense in the context of jazz music is from circa 1926 and was used by musicians
to convey a professional compliment: "performing well (without
grandstanding)”. This seems to have
migrated to adopt its modern sense to describe something wonderful in the late
1930s although it even then tended to be confined to the young and, outside of parts
of some US cities, doesn’t appear to have enjoyed wide use. It became widely popular in 1960s youth
culture which spread world-wide, including beyond the English-speaking word. Despite falling from favor after hippiedom
passed its peak, it’s never actually gone extinct and occasional spikes are
noted, triggered usually by some use in pop-culture. Generally though, it’s been out of currency
since the 1970s although still used ironically.
The psychedelic Mod Top was a
Plymouth factory option in 1969-1970. Ordered
mostly in yellow, the flower power themed material was supplied by the plastics
division of Stauffer Corporation, chosen for their expertise in the manufacture
of durable, brightly patterned tablecloths and shower curtains. The company, dating from 1907, remains in family ownership and still operates
but it’s not known if it's one of the Stauffer families which are branches of the Staufer Dynasty (known also as the Hohenstaufen) which provided a number of medieval German kings who were crowned also as Holy Roman
Emperors.
There however the patterned roof didn't die although the grooviness did. Despite it being the
intermediate-sized Satellite which in 1969 which attracted the most
mod-toppers, Plymouth the next year restricted availability to the pony cars
and demand proved embarrassingly modest.
Not discouraged, the factory in mid-year offered a somewhat subdued variation
on their full-sized line, the Fury, a flourish perhaps surprising given the evolution
of the market segment. Until
the 1960 model year, the “big three” (General Motors (GM), Ford & Chrysler)
had each produced essentially one mainstream line, low-volume specialties such
as the Thunderbird and Corvette just lucrative niche players. Beginning in the 1960 model-year, that would
change, increasing prosperity encouraging and the growing success of smaller
imports compelling Detroit’s big three to introduce first compact, then
intermediate and later sub-compact ranges, what came to be called the
full-sized cars having grown just too big, heavy and thirsty for many.
The
market spoke and the full-sized ranges, while remaining big sellers, gradually
abandoned the high-performance versions which had once been the flagships, the smaller,
lighter intermediates, pony cars and even the compacts much more convincing in
the role. By 1970, the big cars ran a gamut
from stripper taxi-cabs to elaborately fitted-out luxury cars (which grew so big they cam later to be called "land yachts") but attempts to
maintain a full-sized finger in the sporty pie was nearly over. By 1970, only Ford still had a four-speed manual
gearbox on the option list for the big XL and Chrysler, although the lusty triple-carburetor 440 cubic inch
(7.2 litre) V8 could be had in some Fury models, it was available only with the
TorqueFlite automatic. All GM’s big
stuff were now definitely heavy cruisers.
But Plymouth clearly believed the Fury still offered some scope in other stylistic directions; it was after all a big canvas. Mid-way through the year, quietly slipped into the range was the "Gran Coupe", based on the Fury II two-door sedan but bundled with a number of otherwise extra-cost options including air conditioning and some much admired concealed headlights. What was most obvious however, was the paisley theme, a patterned vinyl roof with matching upholstery, most Gran Coupes finished in a newly created copper tone paint although other colors were available.
The Gran Coupe was retained for 1971 but the coachwork was the more elegant pillarless hardtop in both two and four-door models, the latter still known as a coupe, attracting some criticism from pedants but in the UK Rover had offered a four-door “coupé” for a decade although, Rover at least cut down the P5’s roof-line a little, a nod to the history of the word coupé (from the French coupé, an elliptical form of carosse coupé (cut carriage), past participle of couper (to cut)). Shameless, Plymouth ignored the etymology and invented the un-cut coupe, clearly believing gluing on some Paisley vinyl vested sufficient distinction. The factory also imposed some restraint on buyers: although the Gran Coupe was available in a variety of colors, only if the standard interior trim (tan) was chosen would the Paisley patterned upholstery be available and, befitting the likely ownership of the big machines, the vinyl roof was inconspicuously dark rather than the swirling psychedelia of the groovy Mod Top’s swirls. It was for years the end for any exuberance in the full-sized lines. Ford dropped the manual gearbox option after 1970 and Chevrolet had already removed the SS option for the Impala; big engines would remain, indeed, they would grow larger but power would drop, the full-sized lines of both now hunting those wanting cut-price Lincolns and Cadillacs. Plymouth had already abandoned the Mod Top after a lackluster 1970 and the more dour Paisley vinyl lasted only another year, consigned to history with the triple-carburetor 440. Happily, decades later, big-power engines would make a comeback but fortunately, the Paisley vinyl roof remained forgotten.
Chrysler's use of the term "paisley" was actually a bit misleading; only some of the groovy vinyl was a true paisley but the marketing people liked it so applied it liberally, even to fabric with big yellow sunflowers. Customers didn't however share the enthusiasm felt by the sales department and by mid-1970, Chrysler realized they had a lot of bolts of un-wanted "paisley" vinyl in the warehouse; this was some time before just-in-time (JIT) supply chains. The inspired suggestion was to dye the vinyl a dark purple and offer it only with the "Sparkling Burgundy Metallic" paint which was exclusive to the Imperial line, the theory being the same as used with hair-dyes: dark can always cover light. Some (quick) tests suggested this was true and in September, the 1971 models began to be shipped to the dealers, some of which were parked outside... in direct sunlight. Almost immediately, the "rich" burgundy vinyl began to fade. Chrysler replaced the tops with either black or white vinyl and this time the "paisley" option was killed for good. A handful were actually sold with the purple fabric still attached, later to fade, at which point most owners took up the offer for the white or black re-cover, depending on the interior trim chosen. Few burgundy examples survive although at least one which has spent the last fifty years protected from the ultra-violet still exists as it left the factory.
