|
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2
stranger
|
OP
stranger
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2 |
I have got a question. Being prone to irritation, I often burst out with words such as 'fiddlesticks!' and phrases (silly as can be, of course) such as 'poppycock and dewberries!' This morning I was practicing my instrument when I made a mistake. I yelled 'fiddlesticks!' and a relation who heard asked if I knew why that word is used as an expostulation, since it means a violin bow. I was immediately curious. This word is used a good deal- And I doubt many people know what it means. I looked it up on the Internet, but only found a few things. Does anyone have a good etymology for it?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
don't ya just love words that have there meaning staring you in the face, and somehow, you missed it?
disaster! -- one day, i finally realized, dis- a negative prefix, could mean not (dis obey)/or undone, (disrobe) and aster..stars. a bad outcome, one that was not predicted in some important persons 'star chart'... an unforseen event.. a disaster!
isn't self evident that fiddle sticks are bows? and isn't fun to find out some 'self evident' etymologies are that at all --like the stupid psuedo feminists saying herstory for history.. (as if history was his story!)
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Welcome, Scilla! Well, I found this, but it isn't attributed: — fiddlestick (15c., originally "the bow of a fiddle;" meaning "nonsense" is from 1621) http://www.etymonline.com/f2etym.htm
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
isn't attributed
YCLIUITBAMOED
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
... I also found this: Fiddlesticks: 'It's all fiddlesticks' implies that it is all nonsense.... I can't find a modern origin but, in 1811 "Fiddlestick's end" meant "nothing". The ancient fiddlestick (violin bow) ended in a point, hence, metaphorically, used to express a thing terminating in nothing. http://members.madasafish.com/~jbriggs/book/e & f.htm(both above sources thanks to MaxQ and his magical reference page: http://maxqnz.com/References.html)
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004 |
Dear Scilla
On fiddlesticks, I must confess to not knowing why a fiddle's stick should be considered nonsense, but I am reasonably certain that poppycock comes from the Afrikaans (I think the original spelling is paape-kak, or some such) and refers to soft squidgy dung.
Don't know if that helps...
cheer
the sunshine warrior
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Soft squidgy dung
I for one will certainly file that away. And it's good to see you, shanks!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
I've always thought that exclamations like "fiddlesticks" and "shoot!" were substitutions for other, more vulgar, oaths such as f--k and s--t. Likewise darn for damn, heck for hell, gosh for God, etc. They don't have to make any sense, as they're just substitute sounds, such as when "Doctor Evil" in the Austin Powers films says, "Throw me a frickin' bone here, people!"
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,504
Members9,187
|
Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
0 members (),
549
guests, and
3
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|