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#98574
03/13/2003 5:06 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Has anyone here heard of Patrick O'Brian? tsuwm, I'd be particularly interested in your comments on his "list". Have you been to that Duluth site? AnnaS. and Faldage, what do you think of some of Mr. O'B.'s etymologies? Bingley? http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/words.words.words.html
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#98575
03/13/2003 5:18 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Patrick O'Brian. Aubrey-Maturin stories. Life aboard an English fighting ship during the Napoleonic Wars. Excellent stories. Never heard of his repute as an etymologist.
And your link worked fine for me, BTW. hth.
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#98576
03/13/2003 5:51 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
Gibbons Burke and the contributors to his list play pretty fast and loose with folk etymology on some of those phrases--some of which we've discussed here; e.g., three sheets to the wind, the whole nine yards, POSH(?).
it will be interesting to see how much of the Duluth site material ends up in OED3.
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#98577
03/13/2003 11:15 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Yes, I was thinking of posh in particular, since to my recollection it was debunked here. I shall trust that you'll keep an eye out, my friend. Yes, Faldage, you DID help! 
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#98578
03/14/2003 11:20 AM
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
Has anyone here heard of Patrick O'Brian?
I used to believe that no one would write better novels dealing with the Royal Navy of that period than CS Forrester. Now I think no one will ever do better than Patrick O'Brian. A strange man, however, and a shame that he is dead.
O'Brian was very knowledgable on naval and medical history and terminology but, except in those fields, he was not an etymologist.
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