Buzz/Buzz off

Buzz is a busy little word. It was first coined in the 1400s as an onomatopoeic word that replicated the sound of a bee or other flying insects. By the late 1500s/early 1600s, it also took on the meaning of gossip or a rumour, and retains this meaning in expressions like 'what's the buzz?' meaning what is the latest talk, rumour, or gossip. In the 1920s, 'to give someone a buzz' meant to give someone a call, or make a telephone call. By the 1930s, it could mean intoxication, and little later in the 1940s it started to mean 'excitement' or 'thrill'. During WWII, for aviators, to buzz someone or something meant to fly very low over people or buildings. To buzz off means scram or go away, as in to fly away like an insect and dates from the early 1900s.