In today's local paper a writer I respect used the word williwog in this context:

They [old hotels] were wrapped in ample, elevated, railed porches where guests enjoyed
evening williwogs wafting in from the sea.

I can't find hide nor hair of williwog. I did, however, find williwaw widely documented with the same meaning:

Merriam Websters:

Main Entry: wil.li.waw
Pronunciation: 'wi-li-"wo
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1842
1 a : a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous
coasts of high latitudes b : a sudden violent wind
2 : a violent commotion

Did he use an incorrect, or another even more obsolete, form of williwaw? Is williwog just another one of those spelling variants as in sockdologer[?] (I have at least three cited spelling variants for this one). Has anyone ever hear of, or used, williwog or williwaw?

And notice williwaw's origin unknown...what is it with these "willie" words?...no trace of origins? Or is williwaw a clue toward our never-found "willies" origin? Makes sense...since a violent breeze is a disturbance.

Or does all this just give you the willies?

Dear WO'N: I have many times seen "williwaw" in stories about Alaska, and suspect it is an Inuit word. T thiink "williwog" is someone's mishearing of "williwaw". Also I have the impression it means of sudden onset, in gusts with rapid changes in direction.

I got a couple hits. One was apparently nickname for some Australian guy, and the other was a pathetic poem about a frog:You have to scroll down a ways:
http://edgarfrog.diaryland.com/011108_59.html

Neither had anything to do with wind.

And would people really enjoy "violent" gusts of wind??

from Dr. Bill's "edgarfrog" link

Edgar Frog: Trying to find a fellow Aussie.

hallie2x: well i am very good with children - i played a big part in raising my baby
sister and i plan to have some someday maybe i can help

Edgar Frog: My tot is 3 years old, and he's always trying to put his williwog in the
sally port.

Nawww!...so this means that williwog is also Aussie slang for "willie"? Stales? Doc C? PaulB?

It doesn't sound likely that a williwog or williwaw would "waft" in from the sea, does it?

But, for sake of argument, if those sitting on the grand old porches did, in fact, enjoy violent gusts of wind, they'd just belong to those spirits who enjoy hurricane watching, tornado tracking, and occasional cop-car following to scenes of crimes.

I knew a terrifically funny guy in Orlando, Florida, who, as a teenager, was on the self-formed "Save Our City Committee." He and his small band of friends would get on some kind of short-wave radio, listen in to what was happening among the police, and would charge out after police cars to see what was brewing in Orlando.

Best williwogs,
WordWilliwaw

Dear WO'N: There are a lot of unusual animals in Oz, but not frogs with phalloi.

not frogs with phalloi

Dr. Bill: If I didn't know that your intentions were generally good, I might take this rather personally, and suggest it belongs in the insult thread.

Of course there are!

One afternoon, there was this good witch who was flying along, when all of a sudden, she heard this soft crying from down below. When she landed, she say this yellow toad. Touched by his sadness, the witch asked why he was crying.

"Sniff. None of the other toads will let me join in all their toad games. Boo hoo."

"Don't cry, little one," replied the witch, and with a wave of her magic wand, the toad turned green. All happy now, the frog was checking himself over when he noticed that his penis was still yellow. He asked an embarrassed witch about this, and she told him that there were some things that she just couldn't do, but if he saw the wizard, he'd fix things up for him. So happily, the little green toad hippity-hopped along his merry way.

Feeling quick happy about herself, the witch once more took to the skies, and once again, she heard some crying, but this time of a thunderous sort. So down to the ground she flew only to discover a pink elephant. The witch asked him why he was crying.

"Sniff. None of the other elephants will let me join in all their elephant games. Boo hoo."

Now if you have ever seen an elephant cry, you know it to be a pathetic looking sight, but a PINK elephant crying is just downright heart-breaking, and that is just how the witch felt. So once again, she waved her magic wand, and *POOF*, the elephant was all grey.

All happy now, the elephant was checking himself all over when he noticed that his penis was still pink. He asked an embarrassed witch about this, and she told him that there were some things that she just couldn't do, but if saw the wizard, he would fix things up for him.

At this point, the elephant just started wailing. "I don't know where the wizard is", he sobbed.

"Oh that's easy. Just follow the yellow pricked toad!"

ROMFL!! LOL!!! I can't stop!...

One of your best, TEd! Now I want a Custom T-shirt made...the picture of a little green frog with a big yellow weenie saying: AND YOU THOUGHT MY TONGUE WAS LONG! Hey, you know, that just might sell! So....© ®

I made up that plural of phallus, and was waiting for one of our scholars to expose the error. When none did, I decided to do it myself. I get a chuckle out of what I found:




Main Entry: phal·lus
Pronunciation: 'fa-l&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural phal·li /'fa-"lI, -"lE/; or phal·lus·es
Etymology: Latin, from Greek phallos penis, representation of the penis;
probably akin to Latin flare to blow -- more at BLOW
Date: circa 1613
1 : a symbol or representation of the penis

Phallacies can turn out to be amusing.

I once heard of a booked titled "Circumcision: An American Held Fallacy."


k

Etymology: Latin, from Greek phallos

The Greek plural would be phalloi.

You outsmarted your own self, Dr. Bill.

I made up that plural of phallus, and was waiting for one of our scholars to expose the error. When none did, I decided to do it myself. I get a chuckle out of what I found:

Etymology: Latin, from Greek phallos penis, representation of the penis;
probably akin to Latin flare to blow -- more at BLOW


Gee, Dr. Bill... all I asked for was some serious help in finding the background/origin of the word williwaw (tsuwm, NicolasW, are you out there?), and somehow we wind up with you discovering the etymolgy for b*** j**! How on Earth did we get from point A to point B (or point BJ), Good Doctor?

I was just handing Faldage a good post. You're welcome, Faldage.

You're welcome, Faldage.

Think nothing of it, Dr. Bill. Always happy to play into your hands.

Hyla, are frogs with no phalloi considered hoi polloi?

williwogs wafting in from the sea
vs
wil.li.waw - a sudden violent gust of cold land air

Seems to me we got two different things here: Williwaw, by definition, is a violent gust of *land air. Williwog, OTOH, would seem to be a gentle *sea breeze. Different directions, different strengths...

>Williwog

Sounds like a mix between 'williwaw' and 'golliwog', not that that would make any sense. 'Willifog' would have been good though.

Dear wwh,

The part of the etymology you pasted read: flare to blow.

Flare to blow? What in Sam's Hill does flare to blow mean? What flare? I mean, flair to blow would mean something altogether different and rather funny, as though some kind of talent were involved in blowing, but flare to blow? I don't get this at all...

Best regards,
Wordwacked

Dear WW,

I think the "flare" should have been italicized, to indicate it was a Latin word. You know "From Latin flare, to blow" Then it reads more like a dictionary entry, and produces less gigglement...

probably akin to Latin flare to blow

That should be: probably akin to Latin flare, to blow. Flare is the Latin infinitive of the verb meaning to blow and is pronounced FLAH-ray. In its full up dictionary entry form, flo, flare, flatus, flatui, if I remember my full up dictionary forms correctly. This is the root of our word inflate.


EDIT: Yeah, right. I spend a half hour researching and making sure that I'd leave something out that'll come back and bite me and Bean slips in ahead of me. Harrumph©

> "williwog is also Aussie slang for "willie"?

'twould seem so from the link - but this lil numbat has never heard it before. May be a localised usage??

stales

faldage gripes Yeah, right. I spend a half hour researching and making sure that I'd leave something out that'll come back and bite me... [I.A.]

you succeeded admirably.

p.s. - have we considered that perhaps 'williwog' was a typo for the wrong word?

p.s. - have we considered that perhaps 'williwog' was a typo for the wrong word?

Well, tsuwm, knowing the newspaper in question, this is a distinct possibility. This is the weekly I cited once before where the editor insists on the one-"e" emplye/employee spelling.

And is there more of an etymology for williwaw in the OED?

>is there more of an etymology for williwaw in the OED?

nope; here is the entry for etymology: [?]
it could be native to the Cape Horn area, since that's where it was first applied, according to the citations.

sorry, my silence in this regard usually means "origin unknown". :-}

http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/

it could be native to the Cape Horn area, since that's where it was first applied, according to the citations.

Hmmm...interesting...I wonder, then, if williwaw could be traced to an indigenous South American tongue?
'Course that particular area, being a timeless seaway, is such a melting pot of multi-national settlers that it could be derived from any one of a wide assortment of languages. Guess we'll never know.

http://ggweather.com/winds.html This is a site all about wind names.

It says "willy-willy" is name for cyclone in Australia, also now being used for "dust-devils".

I still think "williwaw" originated in Alaska, and was extended to describe similar winds off Cape Horn.

I still think "williwaw" originated in Alaska, and was extend to similar winds off Cape Horn.

Wow, Dr. Bill!...I'd say that's quite a stretch!

But, seriously...I tend to agree that it sounds like some aboriginal American tongue...be it North or South.

But remember, we had very little contact with the natives anywhere near Cape Horn.

Dear Bean,

Thanks for the explanation about flare. That flare to blow really had me puzzled. I've gone through all kinds of possible scenarios to explain to myself what a flare to blow and how it might be related to phallus.

DubDub

Dear WW: Remember not to confuse "flare" with "flair".

This old Kaintuk Long Rifle that the old man left laying around had been shot so many times during its 'hey day' that the end of the barrel had begun to flare out (ie. tapper to a wider than original opening). Could this be 'glass blower speak'?

Also, an end piece that screws onto threaded pipe which enables the pipe to be mounted perpendicular onto a flat surface is called a flange. Same root, perhaps?

Dear musick: my dictionary says your "flange" is related to words meaning "side" such as "flank".

If I remember correctly (and I've just checked and I do), Gore Vidal's first novel was called Williwaw. I haven't read it, so all I know about it is that it's about the Second World War.

Bingley

Faldage, is there some hidden meaning in the inclusion in the same post of "Bean" and "flatus"?