I Never Knew There Was a Word for It - Adam Jacot De Boinod [138]
tin gloves (c.1840) a criss-cross of blisters methodically made by a bully on the back of a victim’s hand
bibler (c.1830) six cuts on the back
tund (1831) to flog a boy across the shoulders with a ground-ash
rabbiter (1831) a blow on the back of their neck with the edge of the open palm
to sport eyesight (1920) to deliver all the blows on the same spot in beating
FIGHTING YOUR BATTELS
Similar slang was adopted at many universities. At Oxford, your battels (Tudor–Stuart) were (and still are) your college bills; if you didn’t get to an exam you ploughed (1853) it; and academic nudity (b.1909) was appearing in public without a cap or gown. At Cambridge, in Victorian times, a brute (19C) was one who had not matriculated and a sophister (1574) was an undergraduate in his second or third year. In both places a whiffler (c.1785) was one who examined candidates for degrees, while at Dublin a sizar (1588) was one who got a college allowance. At Aberdeen, from the eighteenth century on, you were a bajan in your first year, a semi in your second, a tertian in your third, and a magistrand (1721) if staying for a fourth year to sit an MA.
JUST MISSED A GEOFF
Much more recently, a new slang has grown up to describe the various kinds of degrees that one may hope to get. The much-prized First has been known as a Geoff (Hurst), a Damien (Hirst) or a Patty (Hearst), a raging (thirst) or a James (the First). A 2:1 is known as an Attila (the Hun) or a Made-In (Taiwan). A 2:2 is known as a Desmond (Tutu) and a Third as a Douglas (Hurd), a Thora (Hird), or even a Gentleman’s Degree, though who would admit to having one of those these days?
RETURN TO THE COOP
Education over, for more than a few the appeal of moving back home can be strong, especially in these days of high rents and generous parental expectations:
twixters (US slang) fully grown men and women who still live with their parents
ant hill family (UK slang) the trend whereby children move back in with their parents so that all can work together towards group financial goals
LIFE IS SHORT
Life races on, and all too soon comes that point when some feel the need to start lying about their age …
agerasia (1706) looking younger than one really is
paracme (1656) the point at which one’s prime is past
menoporsche (UK slang) the phenomenon of middle-aged men attempting to recapture their lost youth by buying an expensive sports car
… a pointless activity, for your years will always catch up with you:
prosopagnosia (1950) an inability to recognize familiar faces
sew the button on (UK slang b.1898) to have to jot down at once what you wish to remember
astereognosis (1900) the loss of the ability to recognize the shapes and spatial relationships of objects
WORD JOURNEYS
debonair (13C from Old French: de bonne aire) of good disposition or family
puny (16C from Old French: puis né) born later, a junior; then inexperienced
husband (Old English) master of a house; then (13C) husbandman: tiller of the soil (an extension of his duties); then (15C) housekeeper or steward; then (16C) a man who managed affairs generally
OYSTER PARTS
Culture
Literature should be my staff
but not my crutch
(Scott: Lockhart’s Life 1830)
here’s little doubt that as a culture we have a passion for a good story well told:
anecdotard (1894) an old man given to telling stories
ackamarackus (US slang 1934) a specious, characteristically involved tale that seeks to convince by bluff
SHAZAM (1940) Solomon’s wisdom, Hercules’ strength, Atlas’s stamina, Zeus’s power, Achilles’ courage and Mercury’s speed (an acronymic magic word like ‘abracadabra’ used to introduce an extraordinary story)
shark-jump (US media jargon 1997) instances that signal the imminent decline of a TV series by introducing plot twists inconsistent with the previous plot
bridges, bridges! (c.1880) a cry to arrest a long-winded story
THE BEST WORDS IN THE BEST ORDER
Poetry too seems to be in the blood, and judging by the activity in pubs around the nation, in no danger of declining: