tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post3946504188264941785..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: ish and moreishlynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8069478917092099082014-11-30T01:09:09.385+00:002014-11-30T01:09:09.385+00:00Petronella Pulsford was Oxford's very own Brig...Petronella Pulsford was Oxford's very own Brigitte Bardot in 1966. I never knew her but I moved into a room she had recently vacated on Plantation Rd. For a couple of weeks a strange man would come to my window to expose himself.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00222752574958131153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48758963496465504632014-11-08T22:43:58.462+00:002014-11-08T22:43:58.462+00:00I'm so surprised that Mantolwen has never come...I'm so surprised that Mantolwen has never come across "moreish". As a Brit, I hear it commonly about food and drink, usually in the context of something which is indulgent: where another slice, or portion, or glass should really be resisted. Usually it is used in a conspiritorial way, even flirtatious.John in Leedsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-42277730039650745452014-06-12T17:36:49.457+01:002014-06-12T17:36:49.457+01:00Susan Dennis
An English equivalent of verlan is c...Susan Dennis<br /><br />An English equivalent of <i>verlan</i> is called Pig Latin. (I think there are other names.) Your students' grandparents may have enjoyed Ollie Shepard's 1949 <b>Shepard Blues (Pig Latin Blues)</b>The lyrics began:<br /><br /><i>Oomanway, oomanway, ooomanway, uoway urshay essay oodgay ootay eemay<br /><br />(Woman woman woman, you sure is good to me)</i><br /><br />The Pig Latin for <i>shit</i> would be <i>itshay</i>— which may be the origin of your students' word.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-15881427598504131912014-06-12T12:07:46.277+01:002014-06-12T12:07:46.277+01:00Diane,
that's really interesting. I'm fro...Diane, <br />that's really interesting. I'm from Atlanta and live in France. In French there is a kind of slang called verlan, which is formed by reversing syllables (l'envers, meaning reversed, becomes verlan). So, ish is probably what would result from the application of verlan rules to the word shit. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11148323482362957680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48482998896377321602014-06-05T22:47:47.746+01:002014-06-05T22:47:47.746+01:00I'm a high school teacher in a suburb of Atlan...I'm a high school teacher in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. I love this blog; it's my new favorite way to procrastinate.<br /><br /> My students use "ish" in conversation as a substitute for "shit" when they are concerned about getting in trouble for swearing. For example, "I'm sick of your ish!"<br />Dianenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-49433901442048356302014-04-18T15:41:54.680+01:002014-04-18T15:41:54.680+01:00I'm so glad I found this post! I'm an Ang...I'm so glad I found this post! I'm an Anglophile American (my grandparents were born in Surrey), and the first time I ever heard the word "moreish" was recently when Richard E. Grant came out with his own line of fragrance, called "Jack", which he described as "lickably moreish". Of course I understood immediately what he meant, but I'd never heard "moreish" before. Then today, a South African blogger friend of mine used the word in a post she wrote about chocolate. Since Richard E. Grant is from South Africa as well, I wondered if "moreish" was a S.A. word or a Brit English word.<br /><br />I'm happy to have found this post for more information on this word! Cheers.Marchelinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11201825708442679157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-52411231450137102592010-03-18T19:15:26.004+00:002010-03-18T19:15:26.004+00:00Imprecise quote: someone asked Dr Jonathan Miller,...Imprecise quote: someone asked Dr Jonathan Miller, religiously-agnostic physician and polymath, whether he felt that he was a Jew. He replied: "Well, Jew-ish."Paul Danonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04816761952837296368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-39374615463778446602009-08-28T09:54:19.703+01:002009-08-28T09:54:19.703+01:00Re: the clock.
My grandma has/had a similar clock...Re: the clock.<br /><br />My grandma has/had a similar clock (oneish, twoish etc.), over here in the UK. I'll be checking on Monday to see if it's still there!<br /><br />As a BrE speaker, I have never EVER used the word 'moreish'. Guess it depends on your background. Odd, but to me it seemed too American to use.Mantolwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02999573184284674621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60125973224930729112008-09-05T12:44:00.000+01:002008-09-05T12:44:00.000+01:00Re: PeckishIn an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slay...Re: Peckish<BR/>In an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, excellent cultural barometer that it is, there is the following exchange:<BR/>Giles: I'm rather peckish<BR/>Anya: That's English for hungry<BR/>Character whose name I forget: Here I thought 'hungry' was English for hungry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7919788807959377052008-02-05T21:10:00.000+00:002008-02-05T21:10:00.000+00:00Thank you for an explanation of moreish, a word I ...Thank you for an explanation of moreish, a word I had never heard before. I am Americanizing recipes from a British cookbook and a headnote said that the "dish is very moreish". <BR/><BR/>FWIW, as a native AmE speaker, I have never heard "ish" used as a separate word, but my teenager attaches it to any- and everything ("How was school?" I ask. "School-ish," he answers.)Derihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17846900198705613620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7736764560747737062007-09-17T09:22:00.000+01:002007-09-17T09:22:00.000+01:00Wanker was last year's WotY. Click on the WotY ta...<I>Wanker</I> was last year's WotY. Click on the WotY tag to be taken to the discussion.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7876350722431791412007-09-17T08:36:00.000+01:002007-09-17T08:36:00.000+01:00Some of the Americans I talk to spontaneously use ...Some of the Americans I talk to spontaneously use the word "wanker" nowadays. I think Austin Powers is to blame. I am curious whether the term has actually caught on.<BR/><BR/>My Michigander grandparents used peckish in the sense of hungry when I was a child in the 60s and 70s.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-89676337183741761282007-09-09T03:21:00.000+01:002007-09-09T03:21:00.000+01:00Thanks for posting about this! I've been research...Thanks for posting about this! I've been researching ish's degrammaticalization, myself, although I haven't looked at regional distribution. There's a thread on alt.usage.english from 2006 that discusses that, although it doesn't have much more than individuals' awareness of it:<BR/><BR/>http://groups.google.com/group/alt.usage.english/browse_thread/thread/c5d2304e40e80e2a/07234d01a36dab88?q=&hl=en#07234d01a36dab88<BR/><BR/>The OED's 2002 citation may be the earliest evidence of ish being used independently in American English, but I'm fairly sure that I (an AmE speaker) was using it at least a decade before that. When I saw the explanation, "the international shorthand for slight hedge," I had thought it was due to the author's expectations about ish's register, rather than its regional use.<BR/><BR/>That early citation for adjectival ish is very interesting. Almost all of the examples I've collected of ish used independently have been adverbial, which makes sense since the affix functions like a bound adverb. However, I have seen about a dozen recent examples of ish used as an adjective.<BR/><BR/>(1) It seems like they're all turning out to be so mediocre and just... Ish.<BR/>(2) Felt a little -ish today; not really sure why.<BR/><BR/>I had no idea the adjectival use was so old, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-78920320401368636512007-09-08T18:57:00.000+01:002007-09-08T18:57:00.000+01:00zhoen, when I first saw the episode of Peep Show t...zhoen, when I first saw the episode of <I>Peep Show</I> that the post reference, I thought Super Hans was saying his crack was "Moorish" as well. Didn't quite make the sense it now makes.Meredithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17183759837238790246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8080546540898329682007-09-08T13:27:00.000+01:002007-09-08T13:27:00.000+01:00Re: More-ish. Used in Single and Single, John Le ...Re: More-ish. Used in Single and Single, John Le Carre, and I had no idea what it meant. Only picked up on it hearing a recording of the book on the tape, thought the character was saying "Moorish," until I went back and checked. <BR/><BR/>In the intros to Mythbusters, the hosts tell us, "We have years of experience that keep us safe." To which I always add "-Ish." I thought I was coining. Guess not. <BR/><BR/>(Am/E)Zhoenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03515663141425057088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58487321798114604972007-09-08T11:04:00.000+01:002007-09-08T11:04:00.000+01:00Mad's ish is still the suffix (that hooks onto adj...<I>Mad</I>'s <I>ish</I> is still the suffix (that hooks onto adjectives), rather than the adverb, though. So not very enlightening from the 'when did Americans get the word <I>ish</I> perspective.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-73911703586116049022007-09-08T08:19:00.000+01:002007-09-08T08:19:00.000+01:00Is there a collector who can go into his archives ...Is there a collector who can go into his archives and tell us how long <I>Mad</I> magazine has suffixed its price with <I>cheap (ish)</I>?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-53604176918936887422007-09-08T02:19:00.000+01:002007-09-08T02:19:00.000+01:00I'm reminded of a wonderful wall clock I once saw ...I'm reminded of a wonderful wall clock I once saw in a friend's home in San Francisco. Instead of numbers, the dial read "One-ish, two-ish, three-ish, four-ish..."<BR/><BR/>Perfect for procrastinators. <BR/><BR/>Alas, I've never seen another clock like it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38434343167572855712007-09-07T23:46:00.000+01:002007-09-07T23:46:00.000+01:00Bwa-ha! Go check out the British English Quiz Que...Bwa-ha! Go check out the British English Quiz Question over on Language Log:<BR/><BR/>http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004888.html#moreAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8671206321901126372007-09-07T23:14:00.000+01:002007-09-07T23:14:00.000+01:00There's something else that's odd about that quota...There's something else that's odd about that quotation. It's using <I>ish</I> as an adjective, but all the OED examples are adverbial.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-9390728255799508702007-09-07T22:16:00.000+01:002007-09-07T22:16:00.000+01:00Yes, not "movie". To me "picture"; to my parents ...Yes, not "movie". To me "picture"; to my parents "flick".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24340628491177092822007-09-07T13:50:00.000+01:002007-09-07T13:50:00.000+01:00"Ish" is used in some parts of the U.S. (mostly mi..."Ish" is used in some parts of the U.S. (mostly midwest?) as a variant of "ick." As in, "Ew, ish!" So the use of "ish" being discussed here may not catch on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87196836145476265842007-09-07T12:46:00.000+01:002007-09-07T12:46:00.000+01:00Great antedating, Max!Peckish in AmE has meant 'ir...Great antedating, Max!<BR/><BR/><I>Peckish</I> in AmE has meant 'irritable', but I don't think it's used to mean that very often these days. The BrE meaning 'a bit hungry' has made it over to AmE.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-70015486390096257762007-09-07T12:42:00.000+01:002007-09-07T12:42:00.000+01:00I believe 'peckish' has made it into the US lexico...I believe 'peckish' has made it into the US lexicon, in fact probably more than ten years ago.<BR/><BR/>There was a haloween episode of the Simpsons very early on, in which the whole town was turned into zombies. The family were trying to escape when Flanders (as a zombie) interrupts with:<BR/><I>Hey Simpson, I'm feeling a little <B>peckish</B>, mind if I chew your ear?</I><BR/><BR/>I can't recall exactly how long ago this was though.<BR/><BR/>For the record, I (an Australian) use <I>-ish</I> frequently, but never as a free morpheme. In that '95 example from the OED, I get the intuition that Australians would say 'sort of'. On the broader grammaticalisation debate, I think that unidirectionality is the norm. De-grammaticalisation is possible through conscious manipulation, but doesn't ordinarily occur.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58331458655684618852007-09-07T12:38:00.000+01:002007-09-07T12:38:00.000+01:00"The Anerican Mercury" vol 64, Jan-June, 1947, p. ..."The Anerican Mercury" vol 64, Jan-June, 1947, p. 184 contains the following:<BR/>'The British frequently add "ish" to many words as in "Come at five-ish" or "The dinner was good-ish." They even say "The movie was ish."'<BR/><BR/>I don't believe Brits in 1947 said "the <I>movie</I> was" anything. Still, it's an antedating if OED wants one. Thanks to Google books.Max Wheelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08488671125464364189noreply@blogger.com