tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post6844768420610273289..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: Untranslatables month: the summarylynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-52079735284684406172019-06-02T12:50:32.709+01:002019-06-02T12:50:32.709+01:00BrE, Scot, mid 60s. Growing up, I was more likely ...BrE, Scot, mid 60s. Growing up, I was more likely to hear get rather than git. The term was often expanded to “get of hell”, as in “spawn of hell” or “begotten by the devil”. It meant something stronger than git does these days, and judging by the near-archaic derivation of the term, probably originally meant something stronger still.Shy-replyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891566073375322808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38566849021987340902018-02-22T12:37:33.063+00:002018-02-22T12:37:33.063+00:00No, it’s from baseball. Baseball is not played in ...No, it’s from baseball. Baseball is not played in rain. If you have a ticket (once called a check) for a game that’s postponed for weather, it’s used for the rescheduled game. By extension, when somebody offers you something you can’t do right now but for which you want another chance, you ask to take a rain check on that. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-75434967390123971822013-12-08T00:03:12.202+00:002013-12-08T00:03:12.202+00:00AmE pork : "Government funds, appointments, o...AmE pork : "Government funds, appointments, or benefits dispensed or legislated by politicians to gain favor with their constituents" (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edn)<br /><br />...especially regarding funds for unnecessary public works projects. See "bridge to nowhere".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-42222255894904914312013-08-10T23:59:26.354+01:002013-08-10T23:59:26.354+01:005. AmE snit: what about (BrE?) "hissy fit&quo...5. AmE snit: what about (BrE?) "hissy fit"?<br /><br />8. AmE to jones, jonesing: what's wrong with just "(to have a) craving (for...)"?<br /><br />17. AmE hazing: this is not a British institution so we would hardly have a British word for it, but "hazing" is pretty well known in the UK and if it happened in British universities I'm that's what we'd call it. I gather they do such things in the Army where it's known as "beasting".<br /><br />21. AmE (from) soup to nuts: or "ab ovo usque ad mala" as the Romans said. What about a "blow-by-blow account" or commentary or whatever?<br />Harry Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01675794936870568336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-79360133064393454972013-07-10T12:14:23.375+01:002013-07-10T12:14:23.375+01:00Lying git is, I think, the use I hear most often.
...<i><b>Lying git</b> is, I think, the use I hear most often.</i><br /><br />I was forgetting <i>stupid git</i>. This is, I think, quite common, and may well be the missing link between the two parts of that <i>Collins English Dictionary</i> definition<br /><br /><i>Collins English Dictionary says "contemptible person, often a fool"</i><br /><br />Personally, I don't think of <i>git</i> as 'fool', but I dare say many speakers do. And I dare say that it comes from frequent hearing of <i>'stupid git'</i>.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45069610401644168532013-07-10T00:55:49.390+01:002013-07-10T00:55:49.390+01:00I associate git with Alf Garnet in the sitcom Till...I associate <i>git</i> with Alf Garnet in the sitcom <i>Till Death Us Do Part</i>. He would end remarks to his Liverpool son-in-law <i>You Scouse git!</i> It didn't really matter if you knew what the word meant — the meaning was carried entirely by the tone of voice. (Non-Brits may not be aware that <i>scouse</i> is frequently used to mean 'Liverpudlian'. It can be used in insults but isn't of itself insulting.)<br /><br />Incidentally, the actor playing the son-in-law was the father of Cherie Blair.<br /><br />Remembering this prompts me to wonder whether speakers of my generation ever use <i>git</i> without an epithet — if only <i>you big git</i>.<br /><br /><i>Git</i> seems to be (for me) a sort of place-holder. It accepts pejorative adjectives or a pejorative tone of voice without (for me) being specifically pejorative. <br /><br />Taboo words can be used in the same way — but without carrying stress. To take an almost acceptable example, one would say<br /><i>↗SAD ↘GIT</i> but <i>↘SAD bugger</i>.<br /><br /><i>Lying git</i> is, I think, the use I hear most often.<br /><br />Younger speakers may use <i>you git!</i> or <i>He's a git</i>, but I haven't really noticed it.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-28952657401396275492013-07-09T21:39:27.377+01:002013-07-09T21:39:27.377+01:00To my delight, I've just discovered this blog,...To my delight, I've just discovered this blog, via the Chicago Manual of Style website. I can see how I'll be spending my spare time in future.<br /><br />To put the following comments in context, I'm in my 80's and grew up in Philadelphia PA.<br /><br />"From soup to nuts" sounds like a perfectly ordinary idiom to me, not uncommon at all. In my vocabulary it doesn't particularly refer to a meal - it just means "from beginning to end" or "entire": "That talk covered the subject from soup to nuts." <br /><br />"Mugwump" began as a political term. Although Wikipedia and various dictionaries say it's from an American Indian term, I've always heard it derived from the saying "He has his mug on one side of the fence and his wump on t'other." <br /><br />"Fanny" in BrE seems to mean different things in BrE and AmE. In my childhood it was a common euphemism for "backside," but I haven't heard it used for years except in the term "fanny pack," a purse that's smaller than a backpack and worn lower down.<br /><br />"Whinge" has been picked up in the U.S. as a fancy way to say "whine." If there's a difference, I'd love to know what that is.<br />airolghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02769752344190189562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-14862893198299555372013-07-09T21:38:27.441+01:002013-07-09T21:38:27.441+01:00To my delight, I've just discovered this blog,...To my delight, I've just discovered this blog, via the Chicago Manual of Style website. I can see how I'll be spending my spare time in future.<br /><br />To put the following comments in context, I'm in my 80's and grew up in Philadelphia PA.<br /><br />"From soup to nuts" sounds like a perfectly ordinary idiom to me, not uncommon at all. In my vocabulary it doesn't particularly refer to a meal - it just means "from beginning to end" or "entire": "That talk covered the subject from soup to nuts." <br /><br />"Mugwump" began as a political term. Although Wikipedia and various dictionaries say it's from an American Indian term, I've always heard it derived from the saying "He has his mug on one side of the fence and his wump on t'other." <br /><br />"Fanny" in BrE seems to mean different things in BrE and AmE. In my childhood it was a common euphemism for "backside," but I haven't heard it used for years except in the term "fanny pack," a purse that's smaller than a backpack and worn lower down.<br /><br />"Whinge" has been picked up in the U.S. as a fancy way to say "whine." If there's a difference, I'd love to know what that is.<br /><br />airolghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02769752344190189562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-51805167659422627722012-10-19T15:17:33.931+01:002012-10-19T15:17:33.931+01:00I though git was just his kid, but Bastard is a ve...I though git was just his kid, but Bastard is a very nasty word for someone who was born out of wedlock "fatherless" (of course it always mad me mad because no one is truely fatherless" But because being born out of wedlock was such a bad thing in the past bastard became a really mean nasty word to call someone. But in my neck of the woods if you say That Bastard you ten to mean he is a Jerk.Mindynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-81798160278051889102012-08-23T06:47:14.871+01:002012-08-23T06:47:14.871+01:00I'm speculating a bit here, but the appearance...I'm speculating a bit here, but the appearance of "nix" in polari and earlier underground slang or cant might well support the idea of a route into BrE via Yiddish. I seem to remember from somewhere that a number of terms in criminal slang came from Yiddish quite early in the 19th century (Fagin wouldn't have been a stereotype without some sort of foothold already in the public imagination).<br /><br />Another thought on git/bastard: again a guess, but "git" sounds like a variant on get/beget, implying a reference to conception/birth in some way - an implication of "misbegotten" (an awkward or unbiddable or embarrassingly slow child)?Autolycushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17642868944400656922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-63454478336593124462012-08-21T21:31:08.249+01:002012-08-21T21:31:08.249+01:00Umm... I am not sure if this has been mentioned be...Umm... I am not sure if this has been mentioned before but to nix or nix was used in British English around the turn of the 20th century in gay slang and Polari as a way to negate something or to tell someone to keep quiet on a subject. "Nisht" or "nesht" were also used in this fashion. Johnny Rovellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-12407876633952977082012-02-10T11:14:28.494+00:002012-02-10T11:14:28.494+00:00I've heard "git" used in (mostly ...I've heard "git" used in (mostly 'country' dialects of) AmE to mean something similar to "idiot" or "simpleton" or even to mean someone who is "gullible" (am I spelling that right? hmm...)- though maybe that is just a shortening from "id'git" (albeit pronounced quite differently so maybe not).Geckohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723659901509670594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38206560185401650692012-01-16T16:25:27.752+00:002012-01-16T16:25:27.752+00:00As a young American (25), I have heard all of the ...As a young American (25), I have heard all of the American words and phrases except '(from) soup to nuts'. I learned the word 'mugwump' in my AP U.S. History class back in high school referring to some Republicans who jumped ship and supported the Democratic candidate for the presidency in late 19th century. Our APUSH teacher then proceeded to call us this whenever we would straddle the fence instead of taking a position and standing by it.djweaverbeaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01296480866583272802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-57602067343944440252011-12-15T21:45:17.507+00:002011-12-15T21:45:17.507+00:00Soup to nuts UK English circa 1925 in PG Wodehous...Soup to nuts UK English circa 1925 in PG Wodehouse.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15955273597849093693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36262616371299345692011-12-15T21:43:21.012+00:002011-12-15T21:43:21.012+00:00Soup to nuts is originally Brit. cf PG Wodehouse.Soup to nuts is originally Brit. cf PG Wodehouse.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15955273597849093693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-12779269976430927692011-12-07T17:07:23.667+00:002011-12-07T17:07:23.667+00:00@David Crosbie: Sorry, I was being just a bit face...@David Crosbie: Sorry, I was being just a bit facetious about the actress and the bishop.<br /><br />@Plum and lynneguist, I think words like "git" and "bastard" tend to vary in force and significance in actual current usage, possibly regionally, maybe even between families and social groups. In Australia "bastard" can be a bantering term of affection between friends, but I'm guessing it would be as offensive to a complete stranger as it, and in my view "git", would be to me. Likewise "sod" and "bugger": but decades ago, I was struck by hearing, on the (then new) local radio in Stoke-on-Trent, a mother referring to her children as "the buggers" (and not even with the kind of rueful acknowledgement of their being annoying at times that you might expect).<br /><br />If there is a distinction between "git" and "bastard" in my mind, it is that the former implies a degree of contempt, whereas "bastard" implies there are some qualities to be respected. The former might be applied to someone mean/deceitful/cunning; but you might use the latter of, say, a tough boss who was at least honest about it (and the same to everybody). Or is that just my imagination?Autolycushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17642868944400656922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-28537809956096920332011-12-07T16:40:59.858+00:002011-12-07T16:40:59.858+00:00Fair enough that 'git' and 'bastard...Fair enough that 'git' and 'bastard' do different jobs in BrE, since BrE has them both and different purposes for them. But I was looking for a reasonable AmE equivalent...and without 'git' to do its jobs in AmE, 'bastard' does some of the same jobs...lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-84741917084472092512011-12-07T16:27:57.223+00:002011-12-07T16:27:57.223+00:00I recall from a documentary about its making a whi...I recall from a documentary about its making a while ago that <i>naff off</i> was introduced to TV audiences in sitcom <b>Porridge</b>. It was felt that whilst it would be unreasonable for prisoners to speak perfect English, the mores of the day would not alllow them to swear in a primetime sitcom, so the writers and cast introduced a whole array of euphemisms, of which this is probably the most famous (another was See You Next Tuesday - which was in military use but became common currency as a result of Porridge).<br /><br />Incidentally, while here, I'd question suggesting <i>git</i> might be synonymous with <i>bastard</i>. <br /><br />Most of the time <i>git</i> is used as a mild and jokey rebuke between friends while the B word is primarily used in genuine anger, usually with reference to a stranger (though of course it can also be used jokingly). <br /><br />Even when used about non-friends, <i>git</i>'s connotations are more along the line of "wilfully obstructive fool" rather than anything genuinely nasty. <br /><br />(Disclaimer, that is my position as a UK Midlander; git/get is a Lancashire word which has travelled south and its migration has slightly skewed its power up and down the scale)Plumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08068131072561763946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-39170072529163698642011-12-07T16:26:56.643+00:002011-12-07T16:26:56.643+00:00I recall from a documentary about its making a whi...I recall from a documentary about its making a while ago that <i>naff off</i> was introduced to TV audiences in sitcom <b>Porridge</b>. It was felt that whilst it would be unreasonable for prisoners to speak perfect English, the mores of the day would not alllow them to swear in a primetime sitcom, so the writers and cast introduced a whole array of euphemisms, of which this is probably the most famous (another was See You Next Tuesday - which was in military use but became common currency as a result of Porridge).<br /><br />Incidentally, while here, I'd question suggesting <i>git</i> might be synonymous with <i>bastard</i>. <br /><br />Most of the time <i>git</i> is used as a mild and jokey rebuke between friends while the B word is primarily used in genuine anger, usually with reference to a stranger (though of course it can also be used jokingly). <br /><br />Even when used about non-friends, <i>git</i>'s connotations are more along the line of "wilfully obstructive fool" rather than anything genuinely nasty. <br /><br />(Disclaimer, that is my position as a UK Midlander; git/get is a Lancashire word which has travelled south and its migration has slightly skewed its power up and down the scale)Plumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08068131072561763946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-82673270761071846812011-12-07T14:29:10.105+00:002011-12-07T14:29:10.105+00:00Autolycus
So he gave her one
I've heard that...Autolycus<br /><br /><i>So he gave her one</i><br /><br />I've heard that punchline twice this year from professional comedians. <br /><br />Not that I'm complaining — it's still funny. No, the point is that I've heard it <b>this year</b> but never before. This alone isn't conclusive proof that it's a recent invention. However, I do believe that when <i>as the actress said to the bishop</i> was commonly used in public, there was no such public use of <i>gave her one</i>. <br /><br />The two expressions straddled a line of acceptability. Now the line has moved, so we can all laugh at the joke without worrying about who's watching us.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60232573060951747142011-12-05T11:48:33.915+00:002011-12-05T11:48:33.915+00:00@David Crosbie: As I recall, the actress probably ...@David Crosbie: As I recall, the actress probably asked the bishop for an example of a double entendre.<br /><br />So he gave her one.<br /><br />@Terry Collman, Donald Cameron Black: "naff" has two meanings, or. Its primary meaning is of mysterious origins, but appears to come from theatrical slang and gay polari with the meaning of unglamorous, unimaginative, dull, tasteless; though since a lot of polari does include backslang, who knows? There might be an Italian or Romany source as well. There is also the usage of "Naff off" (or "orf" if you're the Princess Royal) and "Naff all", as an adoption of the sound as a useful euphemism, in the days when TV dramas and comedies weren't allowed to include real swearing. Cf. (in my memory) some fraught family drama with Thora Hird as the matriarch losing it with her family: "Bubbles to the lot of yer!"Autolycushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17642868944400656922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36122291391532305242011-12-05T04:15:57.050+00:002011-12-05T04:15:57.050+00:00Cameron MacDonald Black said: "I've long ...Cameron MacDonald Black said: "I've long understood "naff" to be a back formation from "fanny" in its BrE figurative sense (roughly equivalent to "asshole")"<br /><br />Cameron, "fanny" in BrE is NOT "roughly equivalent to asshole", or even "arsehole". It's a lady's front bottom.Terry Collmannhttp://zythophile.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-20274198047934417362011-11-30T15:06:48.819+00:002011-11-30T15:06:48.819+00:00David, didn't the ARP warden, Mr Hodges I beli...David, didn't the ARP warden, Mr Hodges I believe, refer to Captain Mainwaring as Napoleon in Dad's Army?Cameron MacDonald Gazzola Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11460898271918397890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-44885082368014578402011-11-30T15:05:48.916+00:002011-11-30T15:05:48.916+00:00David, didn't the ARP, Mr Hodges I believe, re...David, didn't the ARP, Mr Hodges I believe, refer to Captain Mainwaring as Napoleon in Dad's Army?Cameron MacDonald Gazzola Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11460898271918397890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-57515381920103934722011-11-29T01:33:53.981+00:002011-11-29T01:33:53.981+00:00Autolycus
Up until then, anyone behaving that wa...Autolycus<br /><br /><i> Up until then, anyone behaving that way would normally be referred to as "little Hitler"*, but what they would have said before WW2, I don't know. </i><br /><br />I believe '<i>little Napoleon</i>' was not unknown.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.com