DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Stanley]

Not at all Liz, and modern practice says that forcing someone to use an unnatural hand can be dangerous. King George VI's stammer was blamed on this.

[Cathy]

A woman at work used the word 'manky' the other day, she was wiping down some plastic sleeves inside a file to make them more presentable.

I wonder where 'starkers' comes from, as in 'He was starkers', meaning nude.

[Stanley]

Manky widely used in the army, an import from the Indian Army? Stark naked is the origin of starkers. Stark is of course a word meaning roughly 'in your face' or very obvious. The stark truth for example.

[Tripps]

"Manky widely used in the army" I agree. Though they say it is related to French manque or Italian mancare, and came to English via Polari.

I see that the Word of the Year for 2014 is "vape". Never heard of it until this week, but then again, I don't smoke electric cigarettes - or anything else for that matter.

It's hard to keep up with these new internet words - I'm still trying to understand the difference between a schtick and a meme.

[Stanley]

And now you mention it I knew about manqué!

[plaques]

For you shed enthusiasts how about 'Gumption Trap' ?

[Tizer]

I see that the Word of the Year for 2014 is "vape". Never heard of it until this week, but then again, I don't smoke electric cigarettes - or anything else for that matter.

The electronic ciggies have also hit the headlines due to an increasing problem with them being the cause of fires. I wonder if petrol stations also tell you not to use them while refuelling? It's no longer sufficient to say "No Smoking". Should it say "No Smoking or Vaping" perhaps?

[Stanley]

For a complete explanation of 'gumption trap' see the late Mr Pirsig's 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'. He didn't invent the phrase but was the first to analyse it in depth.

[Stanley]

If haversack stems from 'oatsack' where did knapsack come from?

[Cathy]

from Merriam-webster - a bag (as of canvas or nylon) strapped on the back and used for carrying supplies or personal belongings.
Origin - Low German knappsack or Dutch knapzak, from Low German and Dutch knappen to make a snapping noise, eat and Low German sack or Dutch zak sack. First known use - 1603

I'm thinking of the song 'with a knapsack on my back...'

[Tripps]

The German for a dead end street is sackgasse. I think there's a a vague connection?

[Tizer]

I think we're getting into a cul de sac here...

[Tripps]

I'm definitely slowing down - never spotted that.

[Stanley]

Webster cites Low German 'knapp', a bite of food, so a sack for carrying provisions for the march? Sounds good to me....

[Tripps]

" Low German 'knapp', a bite of food,"
Would that perhaps be connected with "snap" which I've heard used to mean a packed lunch?

[Tizer]

I heard `shenanigans' used on the radio this morning, first time I've heard it for years but a good word for many of the things we read in the newspaper these days. Meaning mischief, secret or dishonest activity. But where does it come from? Collins says `19th C, origin unknown'. I've looked on the Web and see suggestions that it started in a court case over gold rights in 1855 in California involving a place called Shananigan which might have also been the name of the owner, but it isn't all that convincing. Anyway, `bankers' shenanigans' sounds like a good phrase to me!

[Tripps]

The Americanism "from the get go" has been used quite a lot lately. You instinctively know what it means, but it doesn't make much sense as it stands. Perhaps a contraction of "get ready get set, go"
I wish I could just ignore this stuff instead of letting it annoy me.

[Stanley]

David, 'snap', as good a theory as any. Why do we use snap to indicate ownership of a similar card, item or occurrence?
Shenanigans. Webster cites 1850/55 American origin. I can't say why but I have always associated it with Ireland.

[Bodger]

To me snap = food, ie, going to work , "as tha got thi snap wi thee"

[Stanley]

Same here. Similar use of 'bait' and 'bagging'. When we were haymaking by hand the food brought out to us was always referred to as bagging.

[Tripps]

You must have been really posh to say 'bagging' . Always 'baggin for us.

I get the same feeling when I see Potato Hash. Should be tater 'ash.

[Stanley]

We probably said baggin....
Why do we 'learn by heart'? What has the heart got to do with it?

[Wendyf]

Because the Ancient Greeks believed that the heart was the seat of intelligence & memory as well as emotion and the phrase has been around ever since.

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Wendy.....
As an example of misuse of the language I proffer the latest defence against smells in the lavatory, would you believe 'Poofume'? See this
LINK The world is going mad.......

[Stanley]

'Heckling' at political meetings. Derives from a process in flax and hemp processing where the material was soaked and pounded to separate the fibres in the vegetable material·