Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

 About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

You are not logged in. [Log In] Wordsmith.org » Forums » (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) » Animal Safari » Blackbird fly !
Register User    Forum List        Calendar     Active Topics     Search     FAQ
Page 6 of 7 < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >
Topic Options
#181521 - 01/07/09 03:16 AM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: PastorVon]
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/27/02
Posts: 2154
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
AHA! I knew someone else out there had heard of mugwumps!

Top
#181529 - 01/07/09 11:08 AM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: Zed]
PastorVon Offline
member

Registered: 12/30/08
Posts: 107
Loc: USA, North Carolina
Well, it may not endear the culprit to hoi polloi; but it is certainly a less uncomfortable way to straddle a fence.

Top
#181540 - 01/07/09 01:15 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: Zed]
LukeJavan8 Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 5284
Loc: Land of the Flat Water
Originally Posted By: Zed
AHA! I knew someone else out there had heard of mugwumps!


mugwumps:
originally mogkiomp in the native Massachusset dialect
of the Algonquian meaning "great man", (mogki - "great", omp - "man").
So a person of status.
_________________________
----please, draw me a sheep----

Top
#181541 - 01/07/09 01:17 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: LukeJavan8]
LukeJavan8 Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 5284
Loc: Land of the Flat Water


Little did I ever know that when my grandmother
(herself, Native American) called her dog mugwump, it was
actually a compliment to the little pooch.
_________________________
----please, draw me a sheep----

Top
#181542 - 01/07/09 01:58 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: LukeJavan8]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 5249
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
I looked up this new to me word 'mugwump' and the various definitions did not make quite clear to me: does the word mean someone who can't decide which side to choose or someone who stands firm against the mainstream?

Top
#181550 - 01/07/09 06:10 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: BranShea]
tsuwm Online confused
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/03/00
Posts: 10463
Loc: this too shall pass
Quinion: mugwump (notice link to 'bated breath' on the right)

Top
#181552 - 01/07/09 08:30 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: PastorVon]
Faldage Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 13653
Originally Posted By: PastorVon
Well, it may not endear the culprit to hoi polloi; but it is certainly a less uncomfortable way to straddle a fence.


Hoi polloi is nominative plural. Following the preposition to it should be dative plural, tois pollois.

Top
#181553 - 01/07/09 08:37 PM Re: hic, hic ! [sic] [Re: Faldage]
zmjezhd Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 3269
Loc: R'lyeh
Following the preposition to it should be dative plural

Audite, audite!
_________________________
Ceci n'est pas un seing.

Top
#181561 - 01/08/09 04:49 AM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: tsuwm]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 5249
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Originally Posted By: tsuwm
Quinion: mugwump (notice link to 'bated breath' on the right)
Good site!

"Hence the old joke that a mugwump is a person sitting on the fence, with his mug on one side and his wump on the other."

So, synonimous to fence sitter. Also new to me. turncoat, turncloack. And wump is multi-interpretable I assume.

Top
#181588 - 01/09/09 02:51 AM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: BranShea]
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/27/02
Posts: 2154
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
Baby talk (w for r) version of rump or backside.

Top
Page 6 of 7 < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >


Moderator:  Jackie 
Forum Stats
8423 Members
16 Forums
13686 Topics
209762 Posts

Max Online: 3341 @ 12/09/11 02:15 PM
Newest Members
teepee, smoothcriminal86, janbra, junebug, Stephen A
8423 Registered Users
Who's Online
1 registered (tsuwm), 46 Guests and 1 Spider online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters (30 Days)
LukeJavan8 88
jenny jenny 63
wofahulicodoc 53
endymion6 45
Rhubarb Commando 35
BranShea 35
Buffalo Shrdlu 18
Jackie 15
zmjezhd 15
Faldage 12
May
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
Board Rules · Mark all read
Contact Us · Wordsmith.org · Top

Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 2013 Wordsmith