The English Language

UNPRESIDENTED. Seth Meyers did a really funny bit about it.....


That one will go down in history, forever, just like "strategery" (which, incidentally, was a Will Farrell-ism when he was portraying W)....

Here's a little tidbit I just learned on youtube!!

(I was looking for a ringtone that makes the sound of silverware tapping against crystal like at a wedding).....

and where that 'tradition' comes from.......

It was to ward off the demons/devil at a wedding reception so that the bride and groom would be "inoculated" from evil. According to this guy anyway.


I've always enjoyed learning the roots of our behaviors....to me, it's language whether it comes out of your mouth, or from your body, or is cultural habituation.....
it's our language.

THE HUMAN LANGUAGE.

But, yeah ----- when I was growing up, it wasn't to make them kiss ---- it was to get everyone's attention so one could make a toast.

Which do you think is more accurate?
"Opportunity devil-free" or "listen up peeps"! In my world it is the latter.

New word I learned just now:

OBSQUATULATE

To "mosey" (go slowly to nowhere in particular) or to "abscond" (on the lam; a fugitive or escaped thief) --

watching a documentary about the history of class snobbery from Elizabethan England to America and how our own American society was first born - the dregs were sent here. Vagrants, squatters, crackers, criminals, rubbish, riff-raff, white trash and many more terms are synonyms.


To be a poor person with no "legal standing" at all - a person of no means, and no hope - who shuffles from town to town (vagrancy), either on foot or in a cart or caravan -- holds no property to 'stand on' - so referred to as "squatter" -- it also references the posture of someone evacuating their bowel...considered unable to learn or improve themselves, like 'untouchables.'

Since forever, this sort of person has been in America, and still is. So - it was undesirables and Puritans who came here - and were expected to either make it or die; but at least they were out of England.

Interesting stuff, history.

Have you guys ever seen Princess Caraboo? Based on a true story. Excellent and charming little movie about a young woman who pretends to be an exotic princess and is 'adopted' by an aristocratic family who come to believe she is royalty.

And then there's also Idiocracy, of course. Another 'dystopian' view of what would happen if people like that were all there are.



Lecture by the author of "White Trash: The 400-Year History of Class in America"

Just a quick post about a book by a favorite travel author, who has written a most informative and easy reading book on American English.

Made In America..... An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson

For me it's offered a little to absorb each night before dropping off to sleep. It puts words in the context from which they originated, so I'm learning some American (and British) history and trivia that I never knew!

originally posted by: desert
Just a quick post about a book by a favorite travel author, who has written a most informative and easy reading book on American English.

Made In America..... An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson

For me it's offered a little to absorb each night before dropping off to sleep. It puts words in the context from which they originated, so I'm learning some American (and British) history and trivia that I never knew!

LOL!!!! HIGH FIVE!!!

I just took a couple of books to my son:

Thich Nhat Hanh "Living Buddha Living Christ", the sayings of Confucius (a 50+ year old paperback copy), and Bill Bryson "At Home."

Bryson is my FAVORITE nonfiction journalist. A master at his craft. The caliber of Bill Bryon's writing (like Taylor Caldwell's and Charles Dickens') is my ultimate goal. That and being a good parent.














I think maybe we were sisters or twins or something.......

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

High five twice.... for both books! And another for the Ma Planck quote!

A family of Cosmic Sisters.

New word alert new word alert --- and a gesture history!


Here's my word: Splaynin

SPLAY'-NIN

To be expected to explain. "That person has a lot of SPLAYNIN to do." "Splayn me that."

(because everyone says it, but do they know it came from I Love Lucy?) (same Bat-time, same Bat-channel)
ha! wordfun
One of my favorite hobbies is looking up and playing with words.

Okay - and, I read yesterday that "the bird," often called "the finger" or "flip off".... originated way back in the hack-em-up days of warfare. The 'bow fingers' (index finger or first finger) of the enemy archers would be chopped off but they then learned to shoot their arrows using the second finger....

they would (supposedly) hold up their middle finger next to it's empty space where the lost digit was in a show of defiance.

who knew?

I asked my mom when I was about 10 what it meant, and she told me it meant "something about sex that isn't nice, it's very offensive and vulgar" so I always thought that was what it was....(oh, and, that was in fact when I got "the talk" and it was oddly using a lot of hand gestures as illustrations. But I totally got the idea....that was "the birds and the bees" for me....lol!!! Still a vivid memory!)

it meant: a big F.U.

But apparently that's not what it started out as! But now it is. Like Monica and Ross bump their own fists together in a secret symbol, or Spock with the Live Long and Prosper deal.... lol!! Or maybe it's a Satanic code that *gasp* is a Satan-worshipper Illuminati Freemason Rosicrucian Vampire Wiccan!!!!

or hell, I don't know.
it was just a story I read and I felt like splaynin

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
Okay - and, I read yesterday that "the bird," often called "the finger" or "flip off".... originated way back in the hack-em-up days of warfare. The 'bow fingers' (index finger or first finger) of the enemy archers would be chopped off but they then learned to shoot their arrows using the second finger....

My understanding is that this is the supposed explanation of the British two-fingered gesture. The story goes (though I'm suspicious of it) that they were holding up both fingers as a sign they still had them.

The two-finger gesture, or V-sign, involves holding up the right hand towards the other person, palm facing self, the first two fingers stiff and slightly apart in a V shape, the rest bunched. The two fingers may be held still, or they may be moved in and out a couple of times.
For a period in the 60's or 70's, the gesture was known as a "Harvey Smith". This gentleman was a prominent figure in the sport of show-jumping, who had many brushes with the authorities. On one occasion he jumped a clear round in the climax of the competition, and celebrated his victory by showing a V-sign in the direction of the organising committee. They promptly disqualified him.

Winston Churchill's "V for Victory" sign was a variant in which the palm was supposed to be turned away from self. Look up the old photos. Apparently he sometimes forgot and did the gesture the wrong way round, much to the embarassment of his aides.

I imagine that the "Peace" sign used world-wide by youngsters today was originally borrowed from Churchill's version. They seem to be completely innocent of the offensive connotations of the palm-to-self sign, and are pictured using either version indifferently. This might be a dangerous thing to do if you walk into an English pub.

I thought the American single-finger gesture was supposed to be about sticking the finger up in a place where it does not belong?

Here is a fun read!

BBCnew.com - How Irish Falconry Changed Language.

The basic story is that Shakespeare liked falconry and borrowed some terms and phrases. The one I did not know about is "fed up" which is what you do not do to your hunting falcon (as a reward for locating game, you give it a treat). If you over feed your falcon it does not want to hunt. The falcon is "fed up" and does not do what you want.

There are a couple more at the article.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
I'm not always convinced by ingenious theories.
The phrase sometimes appears in an extended version, "Fed up to the back teeth". So it could have developed as a way of saying "I've had enough of this" without needing to be borrowed in this way.

Interesting article from BBC
16 emotions that have no word in English

Many of the terms referred to highly specific positive feelings, which often depend on very particular circumstances:

Desbundar (Portuguese) – to shed one’s inhibitions in having fun

Tarab (Arabic) – a musically induced state of ecstasy or enchantment

Shinrin-yoku (Japanese) – the relaxation gained from bathing in the forest, figuratively or literally

Gigil (Tagalog) – the irresistible urge to pinch or squeeze someone because they are loved or cherished

Yuan bei (Chinese) – a sense of complete and perfect accomplishment

Iktsuarpok (Inuit) – the anticipation one feels when waiting for someone, whereby one keeps going outside to check if they have arrived

Then moving on to less comfortable emotions:

more complex and bittersweet experiences, which could be crucial to our growth and overall flourishing.

Natsukashii (Japanese) – a nostalgic longing for the past, with happiness for the fond memory, yet sadness that it is no longer

Wabi-sabi (Japanese) – a “dark, desolate sublimity” centred on transience and imperfection in beauty

Saudade (Portuguese) – a melancholic longing or nostalgia for a person, place or thing that is far away either spatially or in time – a vague, dreaming wistfulness for phenomena that may not even exist

Sehnsucht (German) – literally “life-longings”, an intense desire for alternative states and realisations of life, even if they are unattainable

I see several on that list that will be useful.

In addition to these emotions, Lomas’s lexicography also charted the personal characteristics and behaviours that might determine our long-term well-being and the ways we interact with other people.

Dadirri (Australian aboriginal) term – a deep, spiritual act of reflective and respectful listening

Pihentagyú (Hungarian) – literally meaning “with a relaxed brain”, it describes quick-witted people who can come up with sophisticated jokes or solutions

Desenrascanço (Portuguese) – to artfully disentangle oneself from a troublesome situation

Sukha (Sanskrit) – genuine lasting happiness independent of circumstances

Orenda (Huron) – the power of the human will to change the world in the face of powerful forces such as fate

You can view many more examples on his website

I love this kind of stuff.
Language is one of humanity's gifts. Music and Dance are two others, but birdsong and mating rituals count as that, too - don't they?

a reply to: BuzzyWigs
On the other hand, we don't have a word for "Schadenfreude" either.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: BuzzyWigs
On the other hand, we don't have a word for "Schadenfreude" either.

Quite right.

I was going to include schadenfreude, but thought my post was too long already. I know what it is, and it seems fitting for today's climate, though, eh?

Sad.

Hi there Buzzy,

LOVE this thread! I'm making my way through slowly, so please excuse me if these books have come up in the conversation, but have you read The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker? Such a fascinating study on our unconscious/innate linguistic ability.
Also The Professor and the Madman is such an excellent book detailing the immense task of compiling and creating the Oxford English Dictionary. What an accomplishment!

Now for some non-English words that I enjoy (we have no specific words to denote these ideas)

Aarigaa- Inupak- "the good life"
Schadenfreude- German- "taking pleasure in others' pain"
Weltanschauung- German- "world-view"
Zeitgeist- German- "spirit of the times"

Here are a few words that I just love:

rhapsody
esoteric
gossamer
ethereal
celestial
flummox
vexatious
ephemeral
transfix
bewitching
recalcitrant
tangential
truculent
luminous
nebulous
sage
crone
void
forsook
forsooth
veritas
agape

I could go on forever, to be honest. I just love language and the power of the word. Please check out a thread I made months ago about a language that was created by deaf children in Nicaragua.. it's a fascinating and unprecedented case!
Nicaraguan Sign Language: A Language Created Entirely by Kids

a reply to: zosimov

Very cool! Thank you!!

I, too adore language and am obsessed with it.

Also - I love your avatar!! Action pants!!! LOL!!!

a reply to: zosimov
Here is another list of good words

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Thanks Buzzy

Ha, I'll admit I'm easily amused, but these Action Pants (Adult size) make me chuckle every time.

I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me as I peruse this thread and find things that I am compelled to address.

Thanks again for a stimulating and fun thread!

a reply to: DISRAELI

Ok that was funny

New one!

courtesy of Stephen Colbert

DeVosification. noun

DeVosified. adjective

to DeVosify: verb


to inflict with corrupt input

Okay, here's a good one.

The idiom "rain check." Do you all know where that came from?

"Rain check."

Here's what I found:

This term comes from baseball, where in the 1880s it became the practice to offer paying spectators a rain check entitling them to future admission for a game that was postponed or ended early owing to bad weather.

Just your basic Google search.

But, the reason I looked it up was because I am now watching "Halt and Catch Fire" (referred by my mom), and also watched "Flash of Genius" over the weekend. Inventors.....the 60s and 70s were HUGE for inventions.

My dad was an inventor. He has SEVERAL patents.