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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
from the Go Figure Dept.
I had occasion to wonder at the the provenance of petrophile* (rock-lover) and find that it's one of those words that dictionaries don't deign to gloss. but in looking at OED(online) I noticed, in the expected vicinitude, this gem: petsywetsy
1879 T. H. SAYRE Strategist II. 20 He called her pet names, his sweetsie, sweetsie, petsie-wetsie, get up and getsie, and then the immoral cuss kissed her. 1928 D. H. LAWRENCE Lady Chatterley's Lover xvii. 305 I'm not content to be any man's little petsywetsy. 1994 A. CAMERON Wedding Cakes, Rats & Rodeo Queens I. iv. 38 Nyah-nyah, SmartyPants, forgot about 'cha, didn't they?..Har-de-har-har, little PetsyWetsy. [originally listed as nonce-wd from Lawrence in OED2]
*"The Chinese are the world's greatest petrophiles. They plant stones were[sic] others might choose an herbaceous border." - Stanley Stewart, Frontiers of Heaven (2004)
-joe (stone cold sober) friday
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 293
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 293 |
"PetsyWetsy" I would have guessed that is a response to the animal leaving a stain in my lap when I picked it up to hold!
"I am certain there is too much certainty in the world" -Michael Crichton
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067 |
...but in looking at OED(online) I noticed, in the expected vicinitude... I know the feeling. I can't pick up a dictionary without spending half an hour in it! There are so many interesting words to look at that sometimes I forget why I am there, having never quite made it to the word I was originally looking for...
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
Wasn't there a Petsy-wetsy doll that did.
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1 |
The doll was called a "Betsy Wetsy" and she had both the charming always open mouth and the ability to urinate after feeding. It is amazing that any of us went on to give birth to actual children.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
That was the one. welcome Baca
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