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 2 of 2 1 2
#92099 01/16/03 01:43 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
When I first saw :bostoon" I wondered if it were derived from "Boston". Boston is a contraction
of St. Botolph's town. I can't figure any connection though.


#92100 01/16/03 01:52 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
B
old hand
Offline
old hand
B
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
RC's gommil reminded me of another favourite which I now use all the time:

stunned: (adj) stupid (best pronounced with the Newfoundland-style u which sounds like the Liverpudlian u) Sample sentence: "B'y, are you too stunned to see that that's not gonna work?"

Note that b'y is THE classic Newfoundland word, equivalent to the Aussie mate and used to address someone (girl or boy!) or just for emphasis. That's one I can't ever sound natural saying.


#92101 01/16/03 01:54 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
B
old hand
Offline
old hand
B
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
The Dictionary of Newfoundland English gives, for bostoon:

bostoon n also bosthoon. EDD bosthoon Ir; DINNEEN bastún. A clumsy, stupid fellow (1937 DEVINE 10).
1925 Dial Notes v, 326 Bosthoon—an extremely ignorant man.



#92102 01/16/03 01:56 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
B
old hand
Offline
old hand
B
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
AnnaS, I dunno about chopped liver but saltfish and hard bread is fish and brewis (brewis is pronounced more like brooze). Sounds unappealing though I've never had a chance to try it.


#92103 01/16/03 04:34 PM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 180
member
Offline
member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 180
">Sook, sooky

Thanks, Bean. Both of these are also in common use in NZ, in fact, I used sooky in a
post in I&A a week or so back."

And in Australia. "Sook" struck me as a wonderful word and I acquired the habit of using it when I lived there. Somehow just the sound of it is so descriptive.


#92104 01/16/03 05:26 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Many ofthe words I understood right off the bat - having an Irish family helps there! Another word I heard used was titivate which has a different meaning altogether from titilate. My Grandmother would say someone who spent a lot of time on thier appearance was "all titivated up."


#92105 01/17/03 08:41 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Oh yes, I recognise this one. "She's just titivating herself" meaning putting the final touches to her appearance before going out, and somehow it always was she.

Bingley


Bingley
Page 2 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,581
Members9,187
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo
9,187 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
1 members (A C Bowden), 218 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,713
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,931
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