DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Sue]

I looked dangle up and it is evidently of Scandinavian origin.

I remember when my Swedish pen pal came to stay with me when we lived in the NE, we were both 17. She said there were loads of Geordie words that sounded like a Swedish words . We have now been friends since we were 12! 58 years and met twice

[Stanley]

Indeed Sue. I once sat next to a Norwegian lady on a long flight and one of the things I discovered was that their word for play is laik, exactly what we say.

[PanBiker]

Lot's of Dales dialect is derived from Norse. Not surprising really as the North of England is where they had the most influence when the various Scandinavian races settled over here.

[Stanley]

Very true Ian. Many local terms used in farming particularly derive directly from Old Norse.

[Stanley]

Pedant's Corner I'm afraid. I heard a Radio 4 announcer this morning telling us that the restriction on travel to and from Spain "started at midnight on Sunday, four hours ago."
Forgive me if I have this wrong but four hours ago (then) was midnight on Saturday. Surely midnight refers to the day that preceded it and marks the end of the last hour.
I know, I should get out more.....

[Tizer]

There was a disagreement in The Times recently about someone on a Tuesday writing that an event would happen `next Friday'. Some took it to mean the following Friday (i.e. 3 days later), others that it meant the Friday of the following week.

[Tripps]

Lifelong difference between me and younger son.

I think that's why the forces always use 0001 and 2359 on the 24 hr clock. No ambiguity there.

[Stanley]

So I am still in no-man's land.
More pedantry.... Have you noticed how the emphasis on the first syllable of many words is going out of fashion and is being shifted to the second? This usage in 'pastoral' jarred my sensibilities yesterday.

[Stanley]

A word jumped out at me yesterday. 'Slam'. I looked it up:-
"1670s, "a severe blow," probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian slamre, Swedish slemma "to slam, bang") of imitative origin. Meaning "a violent closing of a door" is from 1817. Meaning "an insult, put-down" is from 1884. Slam-bang recorded by 1806 (also slap-bang, 1785). Slam-dunk is from 1976; early use often in reference to Julius Erving. Slam-dance is attested by 1987 (slam by itself in this sense is recorded from 1983)."

[chinatyke]

I slam the infidels?

[Stanley]

?

[plaques]

I slam the infidels?

On the same theme. A comedy pseudo Master Mind'
What kind of artist was Oliver Reed?
Pass.
Near enough.

[Tizer]

Have a listen to this new episode of Word of Mouth...
`Words Used About Women' LINK
`Spinster, slut, bird, cat lady, ladette, hussy, bossy, goddess, wife. Guest presenter Nikki Bedi (sitting in for Michael Rosen) talks to Professor Deborah Cameron about the words used to talk about women. Deborah Cameron is Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford. In 2007 she published The Myth of Mars and Venus, a general-interest book about language and gender differences. She writes a regular blog - 'Language: a feminist guide' - and occasionally performs as a linguistic stand up comedian.'

[Stanley]

A good point Peter and what is worse is the underlying mind set it betrays.
Another word leapt out at me, 'greedy'. I found a surprisingly complicated history.
"Old English grædig (West Saxon), gredig (Anglian) "voracious, hungry," also "covetous, eager to obtain," from Proto-Germanic *grædagaz (source also of Old Saxon gradag "greedy," Old Norse graðr "greed, hunger," Danish graadig, Dutch gretig, Old High German gratag "greedy," Gothic gredags "hungry"), from *græduz (source also of Gothic gredus "hunger," Old English grædum "eagerly"), possibly from PIE root *gher- (2) "to like, want" (source of Sanskrit grdh "to be greedy").

In Greek, the word was philargyros, literally "money-loving." A German word for it is habsüchtig, from haben "to have" + sucht "sickness, disease," with sense tending toward "passion for."

[chinatyke]

In Greek, the word was philargyros, literally "money-loving."

Fill our Giros? Have you just made that up? What a wonderful word for greedy benefits claimants.

[Tripps]

Maz used the word damper in another thread.

I'd heard of it, and new it was a sort of rough and ready bread - and associated it with a very old book I've got called Wolf Patrol about scouting in say the 1920's / 30's. I think they wrapped dough round sticks and roasted it over an open fire. I had guessed it from the Baden Powell - Boer / WW1 war era.

If it ever was that - the word seems to be now only used in Australia.

PS:
I've been playing with dough recently, having bought 10 kilos of Atta flour. Tried all sorts of ideas. Adding for example yeast, milk powder, milk, an egg. Conclusion - whatever you do it can still be made very edible by rolling it out and frying on both sides in my wok, and the result is broadly the same. I won't starve.

[Stanley]

Damper to me, before I met the Australian bread connection, was the flap in the flue of the open coal fire that regulated the back boiler. I suppose that is a forgotten corner now.

[PanBiker]

Damper known to me in both usages. Damper in our flue had a short rod with a loop at the bottom for operating with the poker.

[Tripps]

Memory triggered. . .

You put the damper in
And you pull the damper out
And the smoke goes up the chimney just the same. . . .

[Stanley]

That's it David and yes Ian, all the ones I saw had that loop for the poker.
Those were the days when a back boiler was the height of modernity!
Can any of you remember Robin Hood sectional CI boilers?



Memories of church and school cellars, caretakers and coke fumes!

[Wendyf]

Curate seems to be the 'in' verb at the moment. Presenters are curating radio programmes all over the place and yesterday I read about an author writing a novel on 60's London who had "curated" a rock band. That's taking it a bit far surely?

[Stanley]

I agree Wendy, a misuse of the word, done I think to make what is being described more 'important'.

[Tizer]

I noticed an article in the paper yesterday saying `1 in 5 people blah blah...' and later, referring to the same fact, `19% of people...'. Now I don't mind the slight difference there but the headline to the article said `A quarter of people...'!

[Tripps]

Curate seems to be the 'in' verb at the moment.

It's been on my list of irritating words for a quite while now. Apparently you can 'curate' a childrens' birthday party.

[Wendyf]

Curate seems to be the 'in' verb at the moment.

It's been on my list of irritating words for a quite while now. Apparently you can 'curate' a childrens' birthday party.

Meaning that you have a collection of children from which you pick your favourites to put on show?