I have got a question.
Being prone to irritation, I often burst out with words such as 'fiddlesticks!' and phrases (silly as can be, of course) such as 'poppycock and dewberries!'
This morning I was practicing my instrument when I made a mistake. I yelled 'fiddlesticks!' and a relation who heard asked if I knew why that word is used as an expostulation, since it means a violin bow.
I was immediately curious. This word is used a good deal- And I doubt many people know what it means. I looked it up on the Internet, but only found a few things. Does anyone have a good etymology for it?
don't ya just love words that have there meaning staring you in the face, and somehow, you missed it?
disaster! -- one day, i finally realized, dis- a negative prefix, could mean not (dis obey)/or undone, (disrobe) and aster..stars. a bad outcome, one that was not predicted in some important persons 'star chart'... an unforseen event.. a disaster!
isn't self evident that fiddle sticks are bows?
and isn't fun to find out some 'self evident' etymologies are that at all --like the stupid psuedo feminists saying herstory for history.. (as if history was his story!)
Welcome, Scilla!
Well, I found this, but it isn't attributed:
—
fiddlestick (15c., originally "the bow of a fiddle;" meaning "nonsense" is from 1621)
http://www.etymonline.com/f2etym.htm
isn't attributed
YCLIUITBAMOED
... I also found this:
Fiddlesticks: 'It's all fiddlesticks' implies that it is all nonsense.... I can't find a modern origin but, in 1811 "Fiddlestick's end" meant "nothing". The ancient fiddlestick (violin bow) ended in a point, hence, metaphorically, used to express a thing terminating in nothing.
http://members.madasafish.com/~jbriggs/book/e & f.htm(both above sources thanks to MaxQ and his magical reference page:
http://maxqnz.com/References.html)
Dear Scilla
On fiddlesticks, I must confess to not knowing why a fiddle's stick should be considered nonsense, but I am reasonably certain that poppycock comes from the Afrikaans (I think the original spelling is paape-kak, or some such) and refers to soft squidgy dung.
Don't know if that helps...
cheer
the sunshine warrior
Soft squidgy dung
I for one will certainly file that away. And it's good to see you, shanks!
shanks! Welcome home!
Re: Poppycock
AHD4 agrees with you:
http://www.bartleby.com/61/75/P0447500.html
I've always thought that exclamations like "fiddlesticks" and "shoot!" were substitutions for other, more vulgar, oaths such as f--k and s--t. Likewise darn for damn, heck for hell, gosh for God, etc. They don't have to make any sense, as they're just substitute sounds, such as when "Doctor Evil" in the Austin Powers films says, "Throw me a frickin' bone here, people!"
Anna
It's good to be back - been too long, but have recently acquired (at work) webability once again. Hooray. Lot's of poppycock built up in the meantime, just waiting to get out and fertilise this board. chuckle.
Hi all.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
OED has 1600 as the earliest citation for fiddlestick(s) for nonsense. It is the earliest of the fiddle-faddle, fiddle-de-dee group.
The actual quote is:
A fiddlesticke! ne're tell me I am full of words.
Welcome back, shanks - far too long time no see.
shanks!!!!!!!!! My long-lost friend!! Oh, welcome back, welcome BACK!!!!!!!! [dancing around in circles e] Love,
Suryaputri.
Oops--sorry; welcome aBoard, Scilla. I can't offer any enlightenment on your question, but I will offer this anecdote: I went to Kentucky Music Weekend some weeks ago, and at the end of one song, the lady who had been playing the hammered dulcimer walked over to the lady with the violin; the latter let her bow hang down by her side, while the dulcimer-ess lightly tapped the violin strings with her "hammers". Amazing. Anyway, the speaker of the group then asked the audience if we had liked the "fiddle sticks". We roared!
Come to think of it, until not so long ago, violin player (i.e. a fiddler) was not considered a very reputable or stable profession..