I Can't Stop Laughing at ‘Star Trek’s Original Nickname for Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy

In Star Trek: The Original Series, two prominent characters are referred to by nicknames: Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, played by James Doohan, and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley. The former makes sense, given Scotty's last name and the fact he's Scottish (fun fact: Doohan was a Canadian, and Scotty wouldn't be played by a true Scotsman until Star Trek: Strange New Worlds). The latter, too, makes sense, although it's a little less obvious (creator Gene Roddenberry shortened "sawbones," a term for surgical doctors in the 19th Century, to simply "Bones"). "Bones," however, wasn't McCoy's original nickname. No, it wasn't medically related, so not something cool like "Scopes" or "Scalpel," or even "D-Fib". It wasn't "Leo," or "Mac," either, so there was nothing to do with his actual name either. You can rule out "Tank," "Iceman," or "The Impaler" too, although the last one would be very, very concerning. No, you would need to look in the fruit aisle for the name which, fittingly, rhymes with dumb: "Plum."