Great old words.

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califclaret
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Re: Great old words.

Post by califclaret » Sat Nov 17, 2018 1:55 am

Guilty as charged

Gerry Hattrick
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Re: Great old words.

Post by Gerry Hattrick » Sat Nov 17, 2018 3:34 pm

Agate's at top o'th ill fri Arle Syke where't Are an Ounds is. Sithee?

houseboy
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Re: Great old words.

Post by houseboy » Mon Nov 19, 2018 9:18 am

TVC15 wrote:Love the word “strumpet”. One of my mates uses it !!

Prannock and Wazzock were non swear words “terms of affection” when I was a nipper !
I remember wazzock, I heard that a lot but prannock was less widely used, I thought I'd never heard it but on reflecetion I remember something about it.

houseboy
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Re: Great old words.

Post by houseboy » Mon Nov 19, 2018 9:27 am

dsr wrote:I think that's a back formation invented, by PG Wodehouse. Disgruntled didn't originally come from gruntled, so far as I know.
Seems you may be right. This from Mirriam Webster:

Which Came First, gruntle or disgruntle?

The verb disgruntle, which has been around since 1682, means "to make ill-humored or discontented." The prefix dis- often means "to do the opposite of," so people might naturally assume that if there is a disgruntle, there must have first been a gruntle with exactly the opposite meaning. But dis- doesn't always work that way; in some rare cases it functions instead as an intensifier. Disgruntle developed from this intensifying sense of dis- plus gruntle, an old word (now used only in British dialect) meaning "to grumble." In the 1920s, a writer humorously used gruntle to mean "to make happy"—in other words, as an antonym of disgruntle. The use caught on. At first gruntle was used only in humorous ways, but people eventually began to use it seriously as well.

It doesn't actually mention Wodehouse but the timing would be right. It would appear to be one of those words that 'came into being' as a word in itself but was actually not correct in the first instance.

Etymology rules, despite about 40% of people thinking it means the study of insects.

Lord Beamish
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Re: Great old words.

Post by Lord Beamish » Mon Nov 19, 2018 9:59 am

Smithereens.

Lord Beamish
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Re: Great old words.

Post by Lord Beamish » Mon Nov 19, 2018 10:03 am

Dipsomaniac.

houseboy
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Re: Great old words.

Post by houseboy » Mon Nov 19, 2018 12:47 pm

piston broke wrote:An American word, used a lot by Clint Eastwood, I’ve never understood. Cockamamey. Excuse spelling, if incorrect.
I'm guessing but:

Cock = to cock

a mamey = possibly derivative of some Americanese for mammy or mummy so therefore a mother.

Ergo: the act of cocking a mother or in American (and now English) parlance = motherf***er.

How's that for a bit of creative etymology?

Just watch - I'll be right. ;)
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dsr
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Re: Great old words.

Post by dsr » Mon Nov 19, 2018 12:55 pm

houseboy wrote:Seems you may be right. This from Mirriam Webster:

Which Came First, gruntle or disgruntle?

The verb disgruntle, which has been around since 1682, means "to make ill-humored or discontented." The prefix dis- often means "to do the opposite of," so people might naturally assume that if there is a disgruntle, there must have first been a gruntle with exactly the opposite meaning. But dis- doesn't always work that way; in some rare cases it functions instead as an intensifier. Disgruntle developed from this intensifying sense of dis- plus gruntle, an old word (now used only in British dialect) meaning "to grumble." In the 1920s, a writer humorously used gruntle to mean "to make happy"—in other words, as an antonym of disgruntle. The use caught on. At first gruntle was used only in humorous ways, but people eventually began to use it seriously as well.

It doesn't actually mention Wodehouse but the timing would be right. It would appear to be one of those words that 'came into being' as a word in itself but was actually not correct in the first instance.

Etymology rules, despite about 40% of people thinking it means the study of insects.
Wodehouse's quote was from 1938, The Code of the Woosters: "He spoke with a certain what-is-it in his voice, and I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled." I don't know of any earlier recorded instance.

Bosscat
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Re: Great old words.

Post by Bosscat » Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:19 pm

houseboy wrote:I'm guessing but:

Cock = to cock

a mamey = possibly derivative of some Americanese for mammy or mummy so therefore a mother.

Ergo: the act of cocking a mother or in American (and now English) parlance = motherf***er.

How's that for a bit of creative etymology?

Just watch - I'll be right. ;)
Found this..

Cockamanies

In the 1940s, painted strips of paper with images capable of being transferred to the skin were called "decals" or "cockamanies." They were naturally regarded by many as silly novelties. Hence, in time, the variant cockamamie came to be used as an adjective meaning "ridiculous."

Used to get these in comics when I was a nipper wet them and pretended they were tattoo's :D

Didn't realise they had that name ....

houseboy
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Re: Great old words.

Post by houseboy » Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:26 pm

Bosscat wrote:Found this..

Cockamanies

In the 1940s, painted strips of paper with images capable of being transferred to the skin were called "decals" or "cockamanies." They were naturally regarded by many as silly novelties. Hence, in time, the variant cockamamie came to be used as an adjective meaning "ridiculous."

Used to get these in comics when I was a nipper wet them and pretended they were tattoo's :D

Didn't realise they had that name ....
I remember those bud (still prefer my version though, it's got a much better ring to it - oops, there I go again).

bobinho
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Re: Great old words.

Post by bobinho » Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:26 am

“Mickey love... what IS egregious”?

Means outstandingly bad. I try to slip it in (oooh errrr) whenever I can.

bobinho
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Re: Great old words.

Post by bobinho » Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:30 am

Gormless. Presumably this means someone or something without gorm. What’s gorm? Never heard it used in reference to someone who is clever and switched on, so why gormless?

Or have I applied the “disgruntled” rule and made it up?

Chobulous
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Re: Great old words.

Post by Chobulous » Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:46 am

bobinho wrote:Gormless. Presumably this means someone or something without gorm. What’s gorm? Never heard it used in reference to someone who is clever and switched on, so why gormless?

Or have I applied the “disgruntled” rule and made it up?
Old nordic word apparently meaning lacking understanding.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gormless" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Lord Beamish
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Re: Great old words.

Post by Lord Beamish » Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:09 am

bobinho wrote:“Mickey love... what IS egregious”?

Means outstandingly bad. I try to slip it in (oooh errrr) whenever I can.
Archaically, egregious can also mean ‘very good’. Very confusing.

It comes from a time when egregious was a synonym of ‘illustrious’. So something could be ilustriously good or bad. The negative connotation evidently died away.
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tim_noone
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Re: Great old words.

Post by tim_noone » Tue Nov 20, 2018 2:45 pm

Lackadaisical :o

Chobulous
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Re: Great old words.

Post by Chobulous » Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:15 pm

Bumweed

Buxtonclaret
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Re: Great old words.

Post by Buxtonclaret » Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:21 pm

bobinho wrote:Gormless. Presumably this means someone or something without gorm. What’s gorm? Never heard it used in reference to someone who is clever and switched on, so why gormless?

Or have I applied the “disgruntled” rule and made it up?

Gorm is Gaelic for Blue. :)

houseboy
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Re: Great old words.

Post by houseboy » Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:30 pm

Buxtonclaret wrote:Gorm is Gaelic for Blue. :)
So 'blueless' then? I think we need another definition. :?

bobinho
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Re: Great old words.

Post by bobinho » Tue Nov 20, 2018 5:09 pm

Unless it’s rhyming slang...

ŽižkovClaret
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Re: Great old words.

Post by ŽižkovClaret » Tue Nov 20, 2018 5:10 pm

Fukke

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Re: Great old words.

Post by Clarets4me » Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:39 am

Loving this ... and also " Old fashioned " turns of phrase ..

" His current Squeeze " - Lady friend , also " Popsy "
" Foundation garments " - Lady's underwear
" A well turned ankle " or " A cracking bit of overtime " - An attractive young woman
" Courting ", " Stepping out with ", " Squiring her about " - Going out with ...

:D :D

karatekid
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Re: Great old words.

Post by karatekid » Thu Nov 22, 2018 9:30 am

Agate is still in use in some quarters.
My interpretation is - he's agate = he said

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