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Joined: Feb 2002
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4 |
Could anybody tell me which word for a simpleton arose from the nickname of this man who contrived to fritter away some 250,000 pounds in a couple of years in the 1880's? I am guessing he came from Britain but not 100 percent sure.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear Fearless: I found a site where you could buy a print of him:
Henry Ernest Schlesinger Benzon.
Spy. July 23, 1887. "The Jubilee Plunger." $50
Sounds as though he "plunged" £250,000 down the tube, a simpleton, indeed.
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
not knowing who this is, much less his(?) nickname, all I can do is hazard a few guesses:
jobbernowl? mome? buffoon?
addlepate? sumph? sawney?
nincompoop? ninny? ninnyhammer?
nupson? mooncalf? footler?
numskull? nimshy? clodpoll?
gowk? balatron? clodpate?
clumperton? coof? dizzard?
chowderhead? chucklehead? dolt?
gawkhammer? gomeril? goop?
grinagog? grobian? gudgeon?
gump? hoddypeak? lobcock?
looby? loord? mome?
mook? puzzlepate? quoob?
tawpie? tomfool? witling?
jackpudding? zob?
les fous font les festinas et les sages les mangent?
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Welcome, Fearless--good to have you aBoard. I couldn't find anything on who this guy is, even, let alone his nickname, but just now the word schlepp came to mind.
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
the word schlepp came to mind.
er, Jackie, schlep is yiddish for tote; carry; lug around, as in, "Don't schlep all those packages yourself; let me help you." Perhaps you were thinking of schlub, which if I recall aright would fit. Edit, after LIU: no, it wouldn't fit.
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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TEd
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 477
addict
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addict
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 477 |
Any help would be appreciated.
Can't help, I'm afraid except to say WELCOME  from one Aussie to another. We're getting that quota up here, guys! Now - if we had a Victorian and a Queenslander, we'd be fully represented. Oh, unless you think we need a Capital Territorian? Do we risk a Polly?
Glad you've jumped in, fearless!
Hev
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4
stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4 |
Thanks for the welcome.
BTW I brought the Tim Tams.
If I do happen to find out I will be sure to post. Someone suggested bozo but from what I can find out its origin is unknown and came into being in the 1920s.
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
addict
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addict
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679 |
Someone suggested bozo but from what I can find out its origin is unknown and came into being in the 1920s.
I've heard of a famous clown called Bozo from that era but I can't find a reference to him anywhere. Perhaps he took the name rather than coining it.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
I found one reference to Mr Benzon online, but it didn't say anything except to acknowledge his infamy for gambling losses.
FWIW, O Thou Improper, Thou Uncommon Noun -- a book containing thousands of eponyms -- does not list Mr Benzon.
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