Gawd, how interestin'. Buttonholing pedants here at the coll got me more confused than ever."Indian Giver" (1848)is defined as someone who wants the thing, given, back again.I had been told that it had to do with goods spread out on a blanket for trading, mistaken for presents at a potlatch, which term (1861) means either a ceremonial feast marked by the host's lavish distribution of gifts OR to give with the expectation of a gift in return. Neither seems to imply this snatching-back behavior. Room for all on the etymological path, though; it's a Charles Earle Funky broad way. (If not a Roy Earle Sierra Mod ray.)