tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post5321380774908607278..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: hustings and stumpinglynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45455835515715317762014-04-17T18:29:10.084+01:002014-04-17T18:29:10.084+01:00Massachusetts age 25-
Stump in this sense only ex...Massachusetts age 25-<br /><br />Stump in this sense only exists for me in "stump speech" <br /><br />I don't have hustings in my vocabulary at all.<br /><br />Debate, or ial debate seems to be a rough equivalent.<br /><br />Outside of politics it might be a QnA session.(Questions and Answers)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02138260302522477243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-59460663490254758742010-06-20T18:12:45.504+01:002010-06-20T18:12:45.504+01:00(BrE) "hust" is used as a verb as well; ...(BrE) "hust" is used as a verb as well; a candidate will hust. I think that's more insidery jargon than general usage, though.Richard Gadsdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545595590359552775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60383420268244730292010-04-07T19:46:57.989+01:002010-04-07T19:46:57.989+01:00Picky, I agree - in BrE, to be stumped, or to stum...Picky, I agree - in BrE, to be stumped, or to stump someone, implies an abrupt halt - as would be the case in cricket (the wicket keeper removes the bales from the wickets/stumps). Stumping around is bit like stomping around - heavy, irritated footsteps.<br /><br />And I have always heard 'at the hustings', resembling 'at the debate' in the UK.biochemistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-67671891584917546932010-04-06T13:27:17.633+01:002010-04-06T13:27:17.633+01:00In EngE, "stumping" is a cricket term.
...In EngE, "stumping" is a cricket term.<br /><br />in EngE, almost everything is a cricket term.Pickynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-20566176927003147792010-04-05T07:52:00.716+01:002010-04-05T07:52:00.716+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.RWMGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04271851970303022440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-62732878027816673982010-04-05T06:53:14.959+01:002010-04-05T06:53:14.959+01:00In America, everyone has a soap box...only politic...In America, everyone has a soap box...only politicians use stumps!<br /><br />In real life, I imagine they stood on soap boxes as well as stumps.<br /><br />A "soap box" implies that one has a cause that one feels passionately about, and uses every possible opportunity to express. Stumps, as I implied before,refer to routine speeches, as one might give in every town in Iowa. So, although I've never heard it put this way, it should be possible for a politician "on the stump" to "get on his soap box" at the same time.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14376545097377854998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58478152680837919072010-04-04T11:15:58.456+01:002010-04-04T11:15:58.456+01:00Do American politicians also get on their soap box...Do American politicians also get on their soap boxes, or do they just stick to stumps?townmousehttp://cityexile.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-91524403625513990392010-04-04T10:16:30.721+01:002010-04-04T10:16:30.721+01:00I think the idea was that US candidates had to go ...I think the idea was that US candidates had to go from one tiny town (too small to have any kind of proper platform) to another to campaign. In the 19th century, that's probably what did happen. Often you will hear commentators complain that a politician's televised speech was essentially a stump speech. It's a put down, suggesting that he couldn't be bothered to write a new speech for the occasion.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14376545097377854998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-43531907903103109962010-04-04T09:15:30.366+01:002010-04-04T09:15:30.366+01:00Swedish still retains some frozen cases that end i...Swedish still retains some frozen cases that end in "s" even though case is no longer an active feature of the language. For example, "go to bed" is "gå till sängs", with an "s" added to the noun (säng = bed).<br /><br />The "s" on hustings may thus be a relic of Norse usage rather than an English plural form. Caveat: I'm not a linguist; this little just-so story is pure (but plausible) speculation.<br /><br />Paschal greetings to all.robert61noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58917629305092801022010-04-04T04:04:29.815+01:002010-04-04T04:04:29.815+01:00In Canada, I've heard "on the hustings&qu...In Canada, I've heard "on the hustings" quite often, but never "husting(s)" on its own. This would make sense with our strong British traditions. <br /><br />I've only heard "stump speech" and the like from US sources. <br /><br />Interesting that Britain refers to a built structure and the US refers to a land-clearing leftover for the same concept. Again, language reflects history.DetailBearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15284066968358363103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-52968658588610593942010-04-03T13:38:55.003+01:002010-04-03T13:38:55.003+01:00I would agree with Me. I'm from Australia and ...I would agree with Me. I'm from Australia and I've never heard of hastings OR stump here. Politicians here either 'debate' or 'make statements'.Zachnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-23440347799018459722010-04-03T05:27:50.271+01:002010-04-03T05:27:50.271+01:00I have only ever come across "the hustings&qu...I have only ever come across "the hustings" used once - in an episode of Blackadder. Now it finally makes sense! Doesn't appear to be common in Australian English from what I can tell...smudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01684987714751518060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-26083150575197633542010-04-02T02:07:24.888+01:002010-04-02T02:07:24.888+01:00JD and Paul: You're not following Brighton Pav...JD and Paul: You're not following Brighton Pavilion elections, then. Search for 'hustings' on Caroline Lucas's blog, and you get 33 hits--none of them 'on the hustings' but a meeting use.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31425457991998103042010-04-01T22:45:37.271+01:002010-04-01T22:45:37.271+01:00Following on from Paul Danon's comment, as a B...Following on from Paul Danon's comment, as a British English speaker I've only come across 'hustings' once - in a university context. When I encountered it, it was without article: "It's hustings tomorrow night." "Are you going to hustings?"JD (The Engine Room)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00836972574430969375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-81947944584631396542010-04-01T18:12:00.689+01:002010-04-01T18:12:00.689+01:00This does remind me of another difference in elect...This does remind me of another difference in election jargon I came across here http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/an-economists-view-of-the-new-oscar-voting/<br /><br />If the comments on it are representative, then the act of voting for someone tolerable who might win, rather than the no-chance candidate you really want, is strategic voting in the USA whereas here in the UK we call it tactical voting. <br /><br />Whether or not this reflects a significant difference in our attitudes to elections I don't <br />know.Shaun Clarksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16290670832534929741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36543821852267931672010-04-01T17:35:17.416+01:002010-04-01T17:35:17.416+01:00As well as on the hustings one can talk about hust...As well as <b>on the hustings</b> one can talk about <b>hustings</b> meaning an election-meeting. I've heard the latter used more in university-contexts than in the context of popular elections. <b>At the hustings</b> can also be used figuratively in BrE to mean the whole process by which candidates present their case to the electorate, not just meetings in draughty church-halls. <b>On the stump</b> is sometimes used by writers in BrE publications but it's one of those AmE expressions which we BrE-speakers sometimes understand and vaguely think we use but don't. Others include <b>rookie</b>, <b>boondocks</b>*, <b>starting over</b> and <b>drinking the Kool-Aid</b>. This is known as <i>special relationshipish</i> which is AmE language that's understood but not used by BrE-speakers. It's like the special foreign-policy relationship which the UK thinks it enjoys with the US but which the US increasingly doesn't enjoy with the UK.<br /><br />* Pronunciation in the <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/pauldanon/home/international-fanatic-alphabet" rel="nofollow">international fanatic alphabet</a>: \boondarks\Paul Danonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04816761952837296368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-72101655993982210342010-04-01T16:42:53.304+01:002010-04-01T16:42:53.304+01:00AmE- Hustings is not unfamiliar to me. Increasingl...AmE- Hustings is not unfamiliar to me. Increasingly, stump is seen either as "stump speech" (as nopted) or "on the stump".Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58822168016695114292010-04-01T13:56:07.723+01:002010-04-01T13:56:07.723+01:00I'm helping to organise a hustings for our con...I'm helping to organise a hustings for our constituency at the moment, from which I have learned:<br />a)hustings is a stand alone word, not as I assumed hustings meeting or session<br />b) for some reason it isn't in the Word spellchecker (with or without the 's')Shaun Clarksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16290670832534929741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-34144128484073475022010-04-01T11:00:02.899+01:002010-04-01T11:00:02.899+01:00I suppose that another common division between US ...I suppose that another common division between US and British political-speak is the fact that British politicians <b>stand</b> for office, while American politicians <b>run</b> for office.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06534842755063770798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-66160100414221446292010-04-01T10:53:03.101+01:002010-04-01T10:53:03.101+01:00I can't think of the last time I've seen &...I can't think of the last time I've seen "stump" alone - it is always "stump speech" and used just at rallies.<br /><br />Since you say "hustings" has to do with events at which multiple candidates are present, I'd guess that the best current American equivalent is the "town hall meeting" or just a "candidates' forum."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com