best boy (best boi) noun

The first assistant to the gaffer (head electrician) of a film crew.

[Apparently borrowed from the sailing terminology.]

We've all heard what ladies have to do to get ahead in the movie business. Who hasn't heard of the famous "casting couch"?

What does a "best boy" have to do to get ahead? [That intriguing speculation is the subject of an ALAD in Of Troy's limerick thread. Give "best boy" a try yourself, or any other limerick for that matter. It really doesn't matter what you try over there. It's more about meter than matter anyway. And mostly the meter doesn't matter either. This isn't OEDILF.com, ya know. We're just foolin' around with rhymes over there.]

Seriously though, in a day when girls can do anything boys can do [and not just on the casting couch], what do you call a "best boy" who happens to be a girl?

In my day, my "best girl" was my girl. She didn't belong to the crew. Have times changed so much, I wonder.

Anu gives us a best guess that "best boy" was "borrowed from sailing terminology". I wonder if it comes from "buoy"? Buoys 'bob' in the water, don't they?

That reminds me of a joke that came out of the famous "Profumo scandal" in Britain many years ago. Two beautiful ladies with Communist Party connections [as I recall] were exposed providing sweets for the elite, one of whom happened to be Profumo, a cabinet minister, who resigned in the resulting scandal. [You could say he had a taste for tarts.]

The lady who brought Profumo down, so to speak, was Christine Keeler. And the other lady was a striking young blonde by the name of Mandy Rice-Davis. [Who could ever forget such a name for a dainty dallying with a discerning sweet tooth? Mandy rhymes with "candy", and I'm a sucker for a rhyming couplette -- or is that "coupling?]

Anyway, rumor had it that Mandy Rice-Davis came to a foul end. She was found bobbing under a peer. Happily, this little joke ties back into Anu's speculation that "best boy" is "borrowed from sailing terminology".

And, one last thing: Isn't it somewhat insincere to say that we "borrow" any particular word from any linguistic source when we never intend to give it back? I do accept that this is the conventional phraseology, but conventions are generally known more for their pretensions than for their probities.

Wouldn't it be more true to say that we "acquire" or "accrue", such a word? Heck! Let's not dissimulate. We "assimulate".

HOUSEKEEPING STUFF

BTW I don't take any credit personally for this idea of trying to generate some interest in Anu's "word of the day". I have just received a constructive PM about that, noting that my terminology about "adding value" appears somewhat self-congratulatory.

The idea to do this was not mine. It was Dr. Bill's who struggled so "valiantly" [and so fruitlessly], as another old-timer has noted, to promote Anu's AWAD 'below the fold' in "Weekly Themes".

But Dr. Bill can no longer post around here. I simply took up his idea, and his cause, because I think it is a good one. Anu has been most generous in hosting us around here for so long, asking nothing in return. How can it hurt to promote his AWAD? Obviously, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of his email recipients are interested in it.

And, if providing a forum for "live" discussions of Anu's AWAD is a good idea, why isn't it a good idea to do it where people can find it conveniently, not hidden in the bin 'below the fold'?

I thank the newcomer who sent me this PM for bringing this issue to my attention so I have the opportunity to clear up any misunderstanding.

BTW Dr. Bill asks me to remind everyone who enjoys this talk-forum that Anu has a "contribute"* link posted on his homepage. Dr. Bill tells me that he is sending in a contribution and he hopes others will do the same in support of Anu's valued service, not only to us, but to the many, many tens of thousands who receive his daily AWAD. [Some of them, in fact, lots of them, might become members of AWADtalk -- we all hope.]

*
Become a Contributing Member of Wordsmith.org

You're invited to become a contributing member. Your contributions help us continue AWAD and other services from Wordsmith.org.

BTW we all know that Anu just installed a new server this past weekend to upgrade the service. This is what inspired Dr. Bill to have me make this suggestion here at this time.

Thank you, Dr. Bill. No-one is more wedded to the best interests of this community than you are.

P.S. If my own personal behavior has improved around here in recent weeks, I owe it chiefly to you. You bring out the best in me, Dr. Bill.

When I say May our best come alive in 2005, I can't help thinking of you. If AWADtalk has a soul, you are that soul. Luv ya. :)

BTW I do recognize that this post is very lengthy and that some may feel that I am being "long-winded" [again!]. I apologize for that, but I have also been criticized for "multiple posts" so I hope a "long-winded" post is the lesser of two evils.

Also, I am posting some input from Dr. Bill regarding support of Anu's service. Most of us, probably all of us, feel the same sense of gratitude as Dr. Bill does, but Dr. Bill feels that this is something worth saying onscreen. [He also thinks it is something worth translating into a "contribution".]

So, thank you, Anu, for your generous support of AWADtalk all these years. And if it isn't your birthday today, well, let's toast your new server. May it serve you as well as it serves us. :)