merkin - Wordsmith.org

bad news, dr. bill; merkin has been entered into the new edition of OED: an American; American English

1994 W. SAFIRE in N.Y. Times Mag. 11 Sept. 45/1 Americans have seized on this Britishism, which has become the most important contribution of the mother country to the lingo we call Merkin since not to worry and spot on.

But used only as sly anti-Americanism by real assholes. Except when it is used to mean pubic wig/
Remember what Quinion said.

actually, no; it's marked "slang, chiefly US" -- as noted by William Safire, it's been co-opted from the Brits.

Great. We're all a bunch of pubic wigs now. Just great.

Actually I don't mind too much about British snobbery towards Americans. As a Kentuckian, I am held in much the same disregard by my countrymen as my countrymen are held by the English. The difference is that the English assume all Americans to be loud, stupid and fat, whereas Americans assume Kentuckians to be stupid, illiterate, incestuous and inbred. But I'm not bitter...

Bollocks to the lot of you! ;)

This board is the only place I have ever encountered the word "merkin", so I have doubts about it being co-opted from the Brits. How about it Brits? Let's try a small sample, have you heard it, read it, used it? Much? Rarely?

all a bunch of pubic wigs

Tell that to the permit fishermen. Tell that to the endowers of the fine concert hall in NYC. We need not cowtow to the preverted minds of English schoolboys. Or either they's gone have to stop calling them things on the other end of they pencils condoms.

>Remember what Quinion said.

http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxmerkin.html

[one of 49,200 google hits; some schoolboys, some non-Americans, some folks named Merkin, many Usenet posts]

thank you for the link. i know the word now. the only thing that troubles me is that I don't know any *positive nicknames for Americans

Well Vika, as a Scot, you might appreciate the following. In 1990 I visited England and Scotland. Throughout my travels I was often mistaken for a German, and it came in handy when being confronted by panhandlers, as I would stare blankly at them as if I didn't understand English. But on more than one occasion in Scottish pubs, I was confronted by older men who I supposed were WWII veterans. They would glare at me and demand, "Are ya a German, lad?" One got the distinct impression that Germans weren't entirely welcome. When I replied, "No, sir, I'm an American," I got a smile, a hearty slap on the back and heard the exclamation, "Ah! You're a Yank are ye!"

Now the original etymology of "yank" is probably not only unfavorable but also obscene, but I felt warmly welcomed to hear it in that context. And damn, that beer was good!

positive nicknames for Americans
Dear Vika: I don't know of any either. "USn" I have seen used, and is at least not insulting.

the original etymology of "yank" is probably not only unfavorable but also obscene

I don't think so. M-W says etymology unknown. I've heard that it was from Dutch (Nieuw Amsterdam and all that) Jan Kees (John Cheese). It was certainly used with insulting intent early on but was quickly co-opted proudly by the intended targets.

Dear Faldage: Many years ago in New England Historical Genealogical Register, I read an
article that seems plausible to me. It stated that the Indians in the Massachusetts area
could not pronounce "English". Their approximation was "Yengees" (sp?) The colonists
jokingly applied it to each other, and the usage was spread by seafaring traders from the
Bay State.

One thing, we can probably be sure it doesn't have anything to do with the capacity of a cement mixer or the length of an ammuntion belt in a WWII airplane.

It's been a while, so y'all please indulge me.

Vika is not a Scot; she is Byelorussian.

And Faldage coined USn, far as I know.

Thank you. I have left the building.

In reply to:
It's been a while, so y'all please indulge me.
Vika is not a Scot; she is Byelorussian.
And Faldage coined USn, far as I know.
Thank you. I have left the building.

from Vika's profile :

location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Bio born in USSR, half-Belorussian + half-Jewish, graduated from the Belorussian State University, PhD in Molecular Biology (The University of Edinburgh,UK)

So, Vika merely lives in Scotland. I don't suppose I would have identified her as Belorussian any more than I would have identified her as Israeli, so youse guys please indulge me.

How is USn pronounced?

'Course, to most non-New York area baseball fans Yankees is obscene!

In reply to:
How is USn pronounced?

The way it's writ, I 'spect:

You-ESS-en

I suppose that's right, though to this yankee merkin, I always read it: uhs'n

actually�, etaoin is right. It's Faldage's taking the particular (southern word) and extending it to the entire country. If I may speak on his behalf.

Dear etaoin: a problem with your pronunication. How Brits call us "UHSns?
Maybe they could call us "YOUSEns".

Language - ... New York Yankees speak at an incredibly fast pace, and get to the point quickly. ... ...>Due
to mass TV indoctrination, Aussies will understand USns just fine.. ...
http://www.uq.net.au/~zzdonsi/language.html

Faldage is copied in far places.

Personally, I find USn to be ghastly.

So come up with something better.

USn is a useful distinction because apparently some Europeans use "Americans" to mean anyone who lives on the continent of North America. This is, of course, strictly true but in Canada American can only mean someone from the US. Therefore, if I use USn in a post it is clear I am talking about someone from the US, whereas I now know that if I write of an American the meaning is vague to someone from Europe, and probably doesn't have the specific meaning I intend it to. (This is something I didn't know before joining the Board.)

And even half the New-Yorkers

"My favorite teams? The Mets and whoever's playing the Yankees!"

Vika is not a Scot; she is Byelorussian

true. but I'd like to be a Honorary Scot (like a honorary citizen) so i was pleased to hear it

"My favorite teams? The Mets and whoever's playing the Yankees!"

not likely to be the Cubs, is it?Just Yankin' your chain!

Cubs

I was quoting, Juan.

BTW, the "yankee" etymology hunt is coming along just fine. My favorite is that it's an acronym; Yet Another Not Known Egregious Etymology.

I was quoting, Juan.

Ah, yes...the fine art of selective quoting.

"Let's play two!"

--Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs Hall-of-Famer (for the basebally challenged among us)

Just to drop my two-penno'th into the fountain:

During the war (2nd World/Great Patriotic anything save WWII [ugh]) the term "Yank" or "Yankee" was used all the time purely as a slang term for someone from the USA. There were no specific connotations to it and the term would be used just as much if we were praising your great nation or abusing it.
(This was, of course, in total ignorance that it was a term only appplicable to those ffrom the Union, rather than from the Confedracy. "Gone with the Wind" was probably the first step in our education on such matters!)

In those days, we could also refer to someone from north of the English border as a "Jock" and someone from west of the ditto as a "Taff" without rousing any ire. It is only over recent years that these words have been seen over here to hold any sort of pejorative connotation. Just about everyone had some sort of nick-name, and you only felt insulted if your friends and work-mates didn't care enough about you to invent one for you.

it was a term only appplicable to those from the Union, rather than from the Confedracy.

It is a term applicable to nobody. To someone from Europe it is refers to somoeone from the United States, to someone from the southern United States it refers to someone from the northern United States; to someone from the northern United States it refers to someone from New England, to someone from New England it refers to someone from Vermont and to someone from Vermont it refers to someone from New Hampshire.

And a Yankee below the Mason Dixon line is a damyankee.

And a Yankee below the Mason Dixon line is a damyankee.

Or Andy Pettite, Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter, Bobby Richardson, or any number of other Southern gents who gladly, and proudly, donned the Yankee attire.

Not to mention the 1964-66 Columbus (Ga.) Confederate Yankees.

http://www.geocities.com/big_bunko/southern4699.htm