Learn English – Where did “wired” come from

etymologyslang

I am not a coffee drinker, but I just drank some coffee. I said to my Hispanic friend, "I am WIRED!" and had to explain what the slang term means. However now that I think about it, that's an awfully strange term for "very very awake." Where did the word come from?

Best Answer

If you've ever had an electric shock, you're well aware of the jolting effects of a live wire.

It didn't take too long for the term live wire to enter the vernacular:

Probably everybody likes to be known as a "live wire." The First National Bank, of Ashland, Ala. thinks so for they recently used an advertisement which read as follows: "Every live wire has a bank account. Are you a live wire?" (The Bankers magazine, 1921).

If, however, you accuse yourself of being a live wire and capable of acting without the sound of a gong or the beck of a boss (from a 1922 ad)

More recently, from the realm of music:

Don't touch me, I'm a real live wire (Talking Heads, Psycho Killer)

I'm guessing that wired evolved from the term live wire, which connotes being energetic, full of verve, and ready to go.