Working Stiff - 02/18/03 04:21 PM
Can anyone help with the derivation of the phrase "working stiff"? Thanks.
Re: Working Stiff - 02/18/03 04:25 PM
I have no idea as to the origin, but it usually refers to someone so underprivileged that
he must accept the most menial low paid hard work.
he must accept the most menial low paid hard work.
Re: Working Stiff - 02/18/03 05:57 PM
I think it refers to the ordinary working man; thus:
Charley said that working stiffs ought to stick together for decent living conditions.
- John Dos Passos, _42nd Parallel_, 1930
The idea of two young working stiffs [Woodward and Bernstein] carrying off the prize is irresistible to youngsters with their careers before them. - Guardian Weekly 10 July 1977
(Dos Passos is the earliest cite in OED2)
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then there is "working stiff" as used in pro wrasslin', which means pulling no punches, in a style that could actually hurt your opponent (and/or yourself!).
Charley said that working stiffs ought to stick together for decent living conditions.
- John Dos Passos, _42nd Parallel_, 1930
The idea of two young working stiffs [Woodward and Bernstein] carrying off the prize is irresistible to youngsters with their careers before them. - Guardian Weekly 10 July 1977
(Dos Passos is the earliest cite in OED2)
---
then there is "working stiff" as used in pro wrasslin', which means pulling no punches, in a style that could actually hurt your opponent (and/or yourself!).
Re: Working Stiff - 02/21/03 12:48 AM
Well, a "stiff" is slang for a dead body. I always associated "working stiff" as someone who had neither the time nor the money to have a life.
on topic? - 02/21/03 03:54 AM
Could stiff have to do with the starched collar 'the suits' have to wear? The modern business man is often also compared to a zombie; not one of the dead, but the undead [knees tremble]. The template lifestyle led by office workers is the reasoning, I guess.
"Working stiff" also reminds me of the phrase 'to work your fingers to the bone' or until you have a 'stiff neck'.
"Working stiff" also reminds me of the phrase 'to work your fingers to the bone' or until you have a 'stiff neck'.
Re: Working Stiff - 02/21/03 04:14 AM
A gigolo? 
Re: Working Stiff - 02/21/03 10:25 AM
gigolo-158,000 hits on google
gigalo-4,130 hits on google
giggolo-2,080 hits on google
giggalo-482 hits on google
tsuwm's formula doesn't hold up here
gigalo-4,130 hits on google
giggolo-2,080 hits on google
giggalo-482 hits on google
tsuwm's formula doesn't hold up here
Re: Working Stiff - 02/21/03 01:58 PM
Consuelo! 
Googling for gigolos?...hmmmmm? 
Googling for gigolos?...hmmmmm?
Re: Working Stiff - 02/21/03 02:07 PM
tsuwm's formula doesn't hold up here
Did tsuwm attually® have a formula? If there was a formula I would have interpreted it as saying that a correct spelling is going to score at least ten times as high as an incorrect spelling on the googlometer. Gigolo scores more than twenty times the combined scores of all the others.
This ignores double l spellings, but even they don't bring the total up to 10 to 1
The old Wobblie defintion of working stiff included anyone who did manual labor of any sort. The idea that it would refer to stiff collars would have gotten you hooted out of the camp.
Did tsuwm attually® have a formula? If there was a formula I would have interpreted it as saying that a correct spelling is going to score at least ten times as high as an incorrect spelling on the googlometer. Gigolo scores more than twenty times the combined scores of all the others.
This ignores double l spellings, but even they don't bring the total up to 10 to 1
The old Wobblie defintion of working stiff included anyone who did manual labor of any sort. The idea that it would refer to stiff collars would have gotten you hooted out of the camp.
Re: Working Stiff - 02/21/03 03:08 PM
Riddle: why were the widow's thighs like the cemetery gate?
They always opened up for...........
They always opened up for...........
Re: on topic? - 02/27/03 07:24 AM
(from Cambridge Dictionary of American English)
stiff (PERSON)
noun [C]
SLANG
a person of the type described
I'm just a working stiff.
You lucky stiff!
(SLANG) A stiff is also a dead person's body.
Looking at various dictionaries it seems that a 'stiff' is slang for an ordinary person, usually used in conjunction with 'working' or 'lucky'. No indication of the origin is given anywhere that I can find.
stiff (PERSON)
noun [C]
SLANG
a person of the type described
I'm just a working stiff.
You lucky stiff!
(SLANG) A stiff is also a dead person's body.
Looking at various dictionaries it seems that a 'stiff' is slang for an ordinary person, usually used in conjunction with 'working' or 'lucky'. No indication of the origin is given anywhere that I can find.