Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

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

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#97060 02/27/03 02:30 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
When I was looking for origin of "scalawag" I found a long list of words, with definitions,
of words whose origin is unknown. It would be stinky to hoard them, so:
http://www.well.com/user/smalin/unknown.html


#97061 02/28/03 09:14 AM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Surprising list. It includes quite common words such as 'cub' and 'scoundrel'. I checked on one word however, 'schooner', and although most sources said the origin was unknown, I did turn up the following from Webster:

The fist schooner ever constructed is said to have between built in Gloucester, Massachusetts, about theyar 1713, by a Captain Andrew Robinson, and to have received its name from the following trivial circumstance: When the vessel went off the stocks into the water, a bystander cried out,O, how she scoons!" Robinson replied, A scooner let her be;" and, from that time, vessels thus masted and rigged have gone by this name. The word scoon is popularly used in some parts of New England to denote the act of making stones skip along the surface of water. The Scottish scon means the same thing. Both words are probably allied to the Icel. skunda, skynda, to make haste, hurry, AS. scunian to avoid, shun, Prov. E. scun. In the New England records, the word appears to have been originally written scooner. Babson, in his History of Gloucester," gives the following extract from a letter written in that place Sept. 25, 1721, by Dr. Moses Prince, brother of the Rev. Thomas Prince, the annalist of New England: This gentleman (Captain Robinson) was first contriver of schooners, and built the first of that sort about eight years since."

So, perhaps a bit of digging would bring up possibilities for at least some of the other words.

In the process of hunting about I came across this Canadian site relating to the Stone of Scone that may be of interest.

http://www.durham.net/~neilmac/stone.htm


#97062 02/28/03 09:59 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
I've had the misfortune of eating (American-made) scones that tasted like stones.


#97063 02/28/03 10:31 AM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
I know what you mean - we get them here too! Then there's something called a 'dropped scone'...maybe its what's left of a very hot scone that has burnt your fingers?

There is a never ending disagreement in these Isles about whether 'scone' should be pronounced as 'skonn' or 'skone'. What's the American view on that?

The Scone in Stone of Scone, by the way, is pronounced 'skoon'.


#97064 02/28/03 10:37 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
I've heard scone pronounced only to rhyme with stone.

And I've had ones like stones, as mentioned above, and some good ones, too. But they tend to be too large for my appetite.

Cool story about the schooner and the scoon--skipping stones and all that. "How she scoons!" I sure hope I have the opportunity to use that one day--what a lovely phrase!


#97065 02/28/03 11:44 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
I seem to remember scone being pronounced scawn by relatives during my youth. That would have been in an authentic Clydeside accent. Couldn't say about other parts of Scotland. Among normal USns, scone to rhyme with groan would be the most common.

Parbly there's a thang that y'all wouldn't understand. A scone edible by the Sassenach would be a bit wimpy for the Scottish taste.


#97066 02/28/03 02:01 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear dxb: Almost a year ago I posted inquiry about pronunciation of "Scone of Stone".
I had read that UK teenagers say "scun" for the edible. Does that apply to the "thrun stun"?


#97067 02/28/03 02:36 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
"Scone of Stone"

I like it. Not channeling Rhuby, are you, Dr Bill?


#97068 02/28/03 03:08 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear Faldage: I've had some hard scones. jmh was going to check the pronunciation for
me, but never did.


#97069 03/03/03 12:35 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
I had read that UK teenagers say "scun" for the edible.

I don’t know about this suggestion, Dr Bill. It's certainly new to me. Most UK teenagers probably don’t eat scones - they have a rather old fashioned image! It is possible that somewhere in the British Isles the word is pronounced ‘scun’ in the local dialect but I haven’t found anyone that has heard it pronounced that way. The word is Scottish, but the Scots and people from the north of England that I have asked would say, approximately, ‘skonn’, not ‘skunn’ and not 'skawn'.

There is a word, ‘scunner’- it has had the distinction of being a wwftd and I can do no better than to quote from that august source:

"scunner - [Scot, v] to be in a state of disgusted irritation."

So, there is no connection between ‘scone’ and ‘scunner’.

As a by-product of this enquiry:
The Stone of Scone (pronounced ‘Skoon’) is named after a location close to Perth in Scotland and, as you know, has no connection with scones to eat! The mound at Scone where the Scottish kings were crowned has had many different names one of which was Boot Hill – which came from an ancient tradition whereby emissaries swore fealty to their king by wearing the earth of their own lands in their foot-bindings or boots.
So not all Boot Hills were to be found in the wild, wild west!



Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
1 members (A C Bowden), 285 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
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

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5