fill 'er up please? What's the origin of this expression?

Question

And why is the question about a 'her' and not a 'him'?

Answer 1

Wow - now I feel old! ;-)

"Fill 'er up" referred to having an attendant at a gas station fill your gas tank for you! I'm 52 (as of tomorrow, the 10th, at least), and when I was a kid, it was unheard-of for a motorist to fill his or her own tank - ESPECIALLY a woman. Gas was only about 23 cents per gallon, and service stations actively competed with each other for your business. They gave out free stuff, trading stamps, balloons, cashed checks, and all sorts of other things. EVERY service station that was worth anything had a good mechanic; the attendant (who pumped the gas) also cleaned your windshield, checked the oil in your car (nobody had wiper fluid back then) and your tire pressure, and did pretty much whatever else he could to entice you to come back. There were free maps available if you were a traveler, and it wasn't too unusual for the attendant to hand a lollipop over to the kids. The attendant took the driver's cash for the transaction, and brought back the change; the attendant generally wasn't allowed to accept tips, either.

I didn't learn to pump my own gas until I was about 20, and had been driving since I was 16 - how times have changed!

Answer 2

With the invention of the automobile came the invention of the filling station to fuel the contraption. Way way back in the day gas stations were full service so when a customer would stop for gas, he would request that the attendant "fill 'er up." Modes of transportation throughout history have been identified with the female gender, hence ships are named after women, etc.

Answer 3

It's about putting gas in a car....Usually people refer to their cars as "she" and way back when, there used to be gas station attendants who would fill up your tank and wash your windows and all that stuff. So you would be telling the attendent to fill your car with gas if you said "Fill (h)er up"

Answer 4

It came from when gas stations were full service. The attendant would check and fill up all fluids in the vehicle that were low. Most men gave their cars female names.

Answer 5

It seems to me that the expression was commonly used at full service gas stations, when they were common. The attendant would ask the driver if he/she wanted the tank to be filed. The word "she" is used because in English we traditionally refer to objects of affection as female. A captain calls his ship "she", and since people usually have affectionate feelings toward their cars, we say "she" or "her".

Answer 6

It's a reference to the old gas stations that had people who would service your car (instead of you filling your tank/washing your windows yourself). It's a "her" because that has been the convention for vehicles of all sorts for centuries. Ships, for example.

Answer 7

As in a car -- "fill her up with gasoline".

In English, we call ships "her" based upon the naming of ships in the British Navy ... "Her/His Majesty's Ship (HMS)" ... the monarch has been a female since the mid 1950's ... so we say her. It was easy to extend the ship "her" to the automobile "her".

We also have the metaphor of getting "into" a ship or car ... that might work for you.

Many writers have written about the mysteries of "her (the ship's) feminine nature" -- Joseph Conrad.

In French, they say "une auto" (feminine). In German a car is also feminine.

Answer 8

Comes from the old days when nobody pumped their own gas. The attendent would come to your car window and you would say "Fill her up please," referring to your gas tank. People tend to refer to their cars in the feminine gender, that's the reason for the "her."

Answer 9

Gas stations had people that filled up your car for you, and a car is always a she.

Answer 10

it was started when fuel pumps at gas stations changed. the first gas pump that could auto stop upon filling your car,also made a bell ring letting you know your car was full.people trusted they got what they paid for. she had nothing to do with it.