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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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bad news, dr. bill; merkin has been entered into the new edition of OED: an American; American English
1994 W. SAFIRE in N.Y. Times Mag. 11 Sept. 45/1 Americans have seized on this Britishism, which has become the most important contribution of the mother country to the lingo we call Merkin since not to worry and spot on.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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But used only as sly anti-Americanism by real assholes. Except when it is used to mean pubic wig/
Remember what Quinion said.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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actually, no; it's marked "slang, chiefly US" -- as noted by William Safire, it's been co-opted from the Brits.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Great. We're all a bunch of pubic wigs now. Just great.
Actually I don't mind too much about British snobbery towards Americans. As a Kentuckian, I am held in much the same disregard by my countrymen as my countrymen are held by the English. The difference is that the English assume all Americans to be loud, stupid and fat, whereas Americans assume Kentuckians to be stupid, illiterate, incestuous and inbred. But I'm not bitter...
Bollocks to the lot of you! ;)
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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This board is the only place I have ever encountered the word "merkin", so I have doubts about it being co-opted from the Brits. How about it Brits? Let's try a small sample, have you heard it, read it, used it? Much? Rarely?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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all a bunch of pubic wigsTell that to the permit fishermen. Tell that to the endowers of the fine concert hall in NYC. We need not cowtow to the preverted minds of English schoolboys. Or either they's gone have to stop calling them things on the other end of they pencils condoms. 
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>Remember what Quinion said. http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxmerkin.html[one of 49,200 google hits; some schoolboys, some non-Americans, some folks named Merkin, many Usenet posts]
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thank you for the link. i know the word now. the only thing that troubles me is that I don't know any *positive nicknames for Americans
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Well Vika, as a Scot, you might appreciate the following. In 1990 I visited England and Scotland. Throughout my travels I was often mistaken for a German, and it came in handy when being confronted by panhandlers, as I would stare blankly at them as if I didn't understand English. But on more than one occasion in Scottish pubs, I was confronted by older men who I supposed were WWII veterans. They would glare at me and demand, "Are ya a German, lad?" One got the distinct impression that Germans weren't entirely welcome. When I replied, "No, sir, I'm an American," I got a smile, a hearty slap on the back and heard the exclamation, "Ah! You're a Yank are ye!"
Now the original etymology of "yank" is probably not only unfavorable but also obscene, but I felt warmly welcomed to hear it in that context. And damn, that beer was good!
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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positive nicknames for Americans
Dear Vika: I don't know of any either. "USn" I have seen used, and is at least not insulting.
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