Chrysti the Wordsmith > Radio Scripts

For centuries, English speakers have used the term "windfall" in reference to unexpected good fortune or the sudden acquisition of a substantial sum of money. There is a literal "falling" behind this expression, but exactly what it is that falls depends upon the historical version of the story you prefer.

The "windfall" could refer generically to branches or trees blown down in a storm, yielding a ready source of firewood for a hearth or cooking stove.

It may be the fallen produce of a lord's fruit trees in the England of centuries past. The hanging fruit belonged to the estate, but peasants were allowed to gather and keep the wind-fallen produce for their own consumption.

According to another version, wealthy English landowners themselves gathered their own fortunate windfalls. Though English estates contained acres of forestland, the trees thereon were by law reserved for the Royal Navy for shipbuilding. Any oaks toppled by a storm, however, belonged to the manor lords to use at their own discretion.

Radio Script > Windfall