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stranger
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stranger
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I heard this term on a show on BBC America & I had to wonder not only about the meaning but about the derivation... Its obviously a derogatory term, but what specifically does it mean & where does it come from?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Apparently it's mostly spelled with an "a" and I doubt if it has a special etymology http://www.bartleby.com/61/59/L0185925.html
dalehileman
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Carpal Tunnel
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dale, I think linguo is hoping to understand the phrase "flannel merchant" not linguaphile.
welcome, linguo! and I've never heard the phrase flannel merchant.
as you say, it is a British usage, and hopefully, one of us from those parts will inform us!
Last edited by etaoin; 10/16/07 04:14 PM.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I've never heard the expression. All I can contribute is that "flannel" means washcloth in the UK...
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Carpal Tunnel
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and note that linguo spells his username with an o - probly because linguaphile is reserved or summat.
-ron o.
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Carpal Tunnel
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and note that linguo spells his username with an o - probly because linguaphile is reserved or summat.
-ron o. o.O oops.
formerly known as etaoin...
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From about those parts;
From Collins humongous Eng. Dictionary, specially published for their 175 years birthday.
flannel:
1. a soft light woolen fabric
There's 8 definitions in total.
8. Brit. informal:verb; to talk evasively to; flatter in order to mislead
The same dictionary gives for merchant:
6 definitions of which
5. derogatary: a person dealing or involved in something undesirable: a gossip merchant
Maybe the two are also used combined?
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addict
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addict
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A flannel merchant is a sycophant.
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A flannel merchant is a sycophant. but why?
formerly known as etaoin...
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I think the question has boiled down to "why did 'flannel' come to mean to talk evasively to; flatter in order to mislead."
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