According to the Editor's Notes to the April 2003 issue of the New York Times Crossword Society, the use of the word "moxie" to describe courage or guts has its origins in the name of the gentian root-flavored carbonated beverage sold since 1884. ("Moxie" was the answer to clue 92 Across of Puzzle #625, "Special Delivery" by June A. Boggs, edited by Eugene T. Maleska, copyright 1986 The New York Times.) Other fun facts provided in the supplemental notes about "Moxie" are: it was in fact the nation's leading soft drink for a time, endorsed by Boston Red Sox baseball star Ted Williams. Furthermore, the story goes that when U.S. President Warren Harding died in 1923, his Vice President, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President by his father (a justice of the peace) at their family farm in Vermont, where "Silent Cal" had been baling hay, and they celebrated the occasion with Moxie. Now you know.