Where did the word hustle come from?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, hustle comes from the Dutch word "husselen," meaning "to shake or toss." Over time, the word expanded, meaning "to hurry" and "to obtain by begging." By the late 19th and early 20th century, hustle started being used to mean "gumption" or "hard work."

Does the hustle function within a meritocratic system?

By implying that the hustle functions within a meritocratic system, companies are able to fashion low wage, inconsistent work with minimal benefits as freedom and self-reliance.

Why did the University of Maryland offer a 'hustle'?

A 1935 article from The Baltimore Afro-American said that by promising a nonexistent scholarship, "the [University of Maryland] president was admitting that he was giving the applicant a 'hustle.'" In other publications, hustle—or a lack thereof—was invoked to make an association between blackness and laziness.

Why do people Hustle so much?

Cammack has also observed with some of her clients that, subconsciously, many people hustle, not just to keep up with the Jones’, but to avoid addressing difficult emotions or issues in their personal lives. “Sometimes the busyness keeps the thoughts away, or it becomes a way of avoiding the conflicts at home,” she says.