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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
I speak entirely from memory here, so I may well be mistaken. [/disclaimer]
I have a feeling that "his nibs" was used, in C18/C19 England, at least, to mean "the Devil" (a name that should not be spoken lightly, of course, in case you summon him from the deeps. Therefore the large numbers of pseudonims under which that dark gentleman shelters.) So, if you refered to any one in a pposition of authority over you as "his nibs," you were being rather more than disrepectful.
So far as cribbage is concerned (and I think TED might support me over this) the term for a the point gained for having a Knave (or Jack) of the same suit as the turn-up is either "One for his Nob" or "One for his head", whereas the term for turning the Knave up is "Two for his heels."
Certainly, these are the terms used in England, over most, if not all, of the country.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
Very interesting theory, Rhu – if you can validate it you can score a hit by spreading the word more widely, as it seems to be a point of less than certainty amongst the normal sources: http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-nib1.htmhttp://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/5/messages/1109.htmlMurky Hurtage suggests it comes from nob, which it describes as “chiefly British usage” (a statement it then somewhat undercuts by quoting an Irish author!) Collins notes (as some other sources) that nib can be traced to a meaning of beak, but also draws a veil over the phrase in 19th c. obscurity: [ETYMOLOGY: C16 (in the sense: beak): origin obscure; compare Northern German nibbe tip. See NEB, NIBBLE]…. his nibs (slang)
a mock title used of someone in authority
[ETYMOLOGY: 19th Century: of unknown origin] http://www.wordreference.com/english/definition.asp?en=nibsDave Wilton and other ‘phrase origins’ sites seem to have very little to offer. Word Detective is only slightly more specific: Another hour or two among my trusty and dusty reference books produced not just the origin of "his nibs," but interesting connections to several other words as well. "His nibs" was a common slang phrase among English college students in the 19th century, usually a sarcastic reference to someone seen as aloof or stuck-up. Along with an earlier form "nabs," "nibs" was based on "nob," an alternate spelling of "knob" and an 18th century slang term for "head." The "head" in question was both literally the human head and "head man," or an important person.
Some of the uncertainty about "nibs" and its relatives is due to their being filtered through 17th century thieves' cant, where meanings were often deliberately obscured to confuse the polic.http://www.word-detective.com/back-h2.htmlI tried the Macquarie Dictionary to see if there was an Antipodean carry-over from this cant, but that comes up blank, too, so please dig more if you have any further information, won’t you?
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624 |
I've always assumed that it just "grew" into use. It rolls trippingly off the tongue, so whoever first coined the expression - from whatever initial source - probably provided people with an expression which was needed and fit the bill very well.
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