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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread cribbage #116433 11/24/2003 12:43 AM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 It is almost seventy year since I last played cribbage. Mr. Dick Swiveller (is that a play on swive-ler?) having been so sick he was out of contact for many days, comes to, to find a girl he called the Marchioness playing cribbage by his bedside. She plays a jack and fails to take score. "The Marchioness dealt, turned up a knave, and omitted to take the usual advantage; upon which Mr Swiveller called out as loud as he could--'Two for his heels!' " I never heard that call before. We had a post about this several months ago, but it would be hard to find. I have heard it call "his nibs" and also "his nobs". What do the calcaneus bones have to do with it? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: cribbage #116434 11/25/2003 12:05 AM Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,154 British Columbia, Canada Zed Pooh-Bah Zed Pooh-Bah Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,154 British Columbia, Canada Sometimes the expression is "one for his head (your jack matches the suit of the turned up card) and two for his heels " (you turn up the Jack.) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter muggins, "ethicly" speaking #116435 11/28/2003 1:59 AM Joined: Aug 2001 Posts: 11,088 Likes: 2 Worcester, MA wofahulicodoc Carpal Tunnel wofahulicodoc Carpal Tunnel Joined: Aug 2001 Posts: 11,088 Likes: 2 Worcester, MA A lovely topic! Cribbage has a vocabulary all is own, as I suppose many old games do. I know of "His Nobs" and "His Heels" (original source: local practice in Quincy, Mass) but if it's also been His Head and His Heels that would make perfect sense. Another delightful idiocyncratic usage is declaring "Muggins!" to take points for yourself if your 0pponent (the "Pone") fails to claim them. However, my current source (http://members.tripod.com/~Germantown_Peggers/muggins.htm) says, "...First of all, you can't mug a missed cut jack"! Of course Mr Swiveller antedates, but what the Dickens did HE know? (Afterthought: When, why, and how did Dickens get to be eponymized in that fashion? It doesn't even have an obvious target to be a euphemism for.) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Dickens #116436 11/28/2003 1:11 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Devil http://www.bartleby.com/61/64/D0206400.html OED traces it back to 1598 and quotes a 1656 source as saying it was a corruption of Devilkins. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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