Balderdash and Piffle - rebuilding the OED - 02/26/06 12:02 PM
Has anyone been following the recent BBC UK series on etymology? I don't know if they have put it out beyond these shores but there is an interesting website with links to the OED for the words that they have reviewed.
Apologies if this has been discussed before while I wasn't around.
OED - BBC Words
------------------------------
Balderdash and Piffle – the fabulous stories behind the words and phrases we use every day. New programme coming soon.
BBC TWO’s hit factual series ‘Balderdash & Piffle’ may have come to a close, but the wordhunt is far from over. The response has been so overwhelming that a special follow-up programme will be made for transmission at Easter, featuring the best new evidence sent in by viewers. So it’s not too late to send YOUR theories and evidence, and maybe you, too, will help rewrite the Oxford English Dictionary.
The OED aims to be the definitive record of the English language, by finding the earliest verifiable usage of every single word – a task that has always required the help of the public. The list below shows in red where the wordhunt has already succeeded in rewriting the dictionary. The task is now to make every word or phrase on the list red - or perhaps you can do even better on the ones we’ve already changed…
Join the Wordhunt
Did you read about mingers with mullets pulling moonies before 1990? And do you know how they got their names? The Wordhunt continues… have you got school magazines, sitcom scripts, fanzines or other written evidence that predates the dictionary’s current earliest date – or can you prove the history of some ‘origin unknown’ terms?
The 50 words on the appeal list all have a date next to them, corresponding to the earliest evidence the dictionary currently has for that word or phrase.
You can see that the Wordhunters have already managed to 'beat the dictionary' 23 times! Can you do better?
[* Origin unknown or origin uncertain. The dates in brackets after the words refer to the earliest verified usage.]
bog-standard [1983]
bonk (sexual intercourse) [1975]
bouncy castle [1986]
minger [1995]
moony, moonie [1990]
mullet* (hairstyle) [1994]
nerd* [1951]
phwoar [1980]
pick'n'mix [1959]
pop one's clogs [1977]
Or perhaps you can find even earlier evidence on the following list than other Wordhunters have come up with so far?
back to square one* [previously thought to be 1960; antedated to 1952 thanks to Wordhunt]
balti* [previously thought to be 1984; antedated to 1982 thanks to Wordhunt]
Beeb [1967]
boffin* [1945, new sense added thanks to the Wordhunt]
bomber jacket [previously thought to be 1973; antedated to 1940 thanks to Wordhunt]
chattering classes [previously thought to be 1985; antedated to 1984 thanks to Wordhunt]
codswallop* [previously thought to be 1963; antedated to 1959 thanks to Wordhunt]
Crimble [1963]
cyberspace [1982]
cyborg [1960]
ditsy* [1978]
dosh* [1953]
full monty [previously thought to be 1985; updated etymology and evidence from 1982 thanks to Wordhunt]
gas mark [1963]
gay (homosexual sense) [1935]
handbags (at dawn) [1987]
her indoors [1979]
jaffa* (cricketing term)
Mackem [previously thought to be 1991; antedated to 1988 thanks to Wordhunt]
made-up [previously thought to be 1980; antedated to 1966 thanks to Wordhunt]
minted [1995]
muller* [1993]
mushy peas [1975]
naff* [1966]
nip and tuck [previously thought to be 1980; antedated to 1977 thanks to Wordhunt]
nit nurse [previously thought to be 1985; antedated to 1942 thanks to Wordhunt]
nutmeg* (football use) [1979]
Old Bill (police) [1958]
on the pull [1988]
pass the parcel [previously thought to be 1967; antedated to 1954 thanks to Wordhunt]
pear-shaped [1983]
ploughman's lunch [previously thought to be 1970; antedated to 1960 thanks to Wordhunt]
porky [1985]
posh* [1915]
ska [1964; updated etymology thanks to Wordhunt]
smart casual [1945; revised new entry thanks to Wordhunt]
snazzy* [previously thought to be 1932; antedated to 1931 thanks to Wordhunt]
something for the weekend [previously thought to be 1990; antedated to 1972 thanks to Wordhunt]
throw one's toys out of the pram (or cot) [1989]
tikka masala [1975]
Apologies if this has been discussed before while I wasn't around.
OED - BBC Words
------------------------------
Balderdash and Piffle – the fabulous stories behind the words and phrases we use every day. New programme coming soon.
BBC TWO’s hit factual series ‘Balderdash & Piffle’ may have come to a close, but the wordhunt is far from over. The response has been so overwhelming that a special follow-up programme will be made for transmission at Easter, featuring the best new evidence sent in by viewers. So it’s not too late to send YOUR theories and evidence, and maybe you, too, will help rewrite the Oxford English Dictionary.
The OED aims to be the definitive record of the English language, by finding the earliest verifiable usage of every single word – a task that has always required the help of the public. The list below shows in red where the wordhunt has already succeeded in rewriting the dictionary. The task is now to make every word or phrase on the list red - or perhaps you can do even better on the ones we’ve already changed…
Join the Wordhunt
Did you read about mingers with mullets pulling moonies before 1990? And do you know how they got their names? The Wordhunt continues… have you got school magazines, sitcom scripts, fanzines or other written evidence that predates the dictionary’s current earliest date – or can you prove the history of some ‘origin unknown’ terms?
The 50 words on the appeal list all have a date next to them, corresponding to the earliest evidence the dictionary currently has for that word or phrase.
You can see that the Wordhunters have already managed to 'beat the dictionary' 23 times! Can you do better?
[* Origin unknown or origin uncertain. The dates in brackets after the words refer to the earliest verified usage.]
bog-standard [1983]
bonk (sexual intercourse) [1975]
bouncy castle [1986]
minger [1995]
moony, moonie [1990]
mullet* (hairstyle) [1994]
nerd* [1951]
phwoar [1980]
pick'n'mix [1959]
pop one's clogs [1977]
Or perhaps you can find even earlier evidence on the following list than other Wordhunters have come up with so far?
back to square one* [previously thought to be 1960; antedated to 1952 thanks to Wordhunt]
balti* [previously thought to be 1984; antedated to 1982 thanks to Wordhunt]
Beeb [1967]
boffin* [1945, new sense added thanks to the Wordhunt]
bomber jacket [previously thought to be 1973; antedated to 1940 thanks to Wordhunt]
chattering classes [previously thought to be 1985; antedated to 1984 thanks to Wordhunt]
codswallop* [previously thought to be 1963; antedated to 1959 thanks to Wordhunt]
Crimble [1963]
cyberspace [1982]
cyborg [1960]
ditsy* [1978]
dosh* [1953]
full monty [previously thought to be 1985; updated etymology and evidence from 1982 thanks to Wordhunt]
gas mark [1963]
gay (homosexual sense) [1935]
handbags (at dawn) [1987]
her indoors [1979]
jaffa* (cricketing term)
Mackem [previously thought to be 1991; antedated to 1988 thanks to Wordhunt]
made-up [previously thought to be 1980; antedated to 1966 thanks to Wordhunt]
minted [1995]
muller* [1993]
mushy peas [1975]
naff* [1966]
nip and tuck [previously thought to be 1980; antedated to 1977 thanks to Wordhunt]
nit nurse [previously thought to be 1985; antedated to 1942 thanks to Wordhunt]
nutmeg* (football use) [1979]
Old Bill (police) [1958]
on the pull [1988]
pass the parcel [previously thought to be 1967; antedated to 1954 thanks to Wordhunt]
pear-shaped [1983]
ploughman's lunch [previously thought to be 1970; antedated to 1960 thanks to Wordhunt]
porky [1985]
posh* [1915]
ska [1964; updated etymology thanks to Wordhunt]
smart casual [1945; revised new entry thanks to Wordhunt]
snazzy* [previously thought to be 1932; antedated to 1931 thanks to Wordhunt]
something for the weekend [previously thought to be 1990; antedated to 1972 thanks to Wordhunt]
throw one's toys out of the pram (or cot) [1989]
tikka masala [1975]