Fun Facts You've Learned from Reading Austen

What random trivia do you know about words, customs, carriages, hair dressing, etc. that came to you through your love of all things Austen? One of mine is the meaning of the word "piano."

So I was sitting casually at my kid's piano lesson while she was getting quizzed on music terms and notations when the teacher started explaining that the fancy "P" stood for piano and that means to play quietly. At this point all the impulsive nerd in me jumped up and said "Yes, which originates from 'pianoforte' with piano meaning soft and forte meaning strong!" I know next to nothing about music but I do know my Austen and my Austen footnotes:

"Well, well, ladies are the best judges; but James Benwick is rather too piano for me; and though very likely it is all our partiality, Sophy and I cannot help thinking Frederick’s manners better than his. There is something about Frederick more to our taste.”