Twitchy?

[Page Stephens]

It reminds me of the term "wiggers" which  comes from a contraction of white
and niggers which I have heard used by white teenage boys who do their best
to imitate blacks in terms of hip hop, etc. so perhaps this is a form of
slang formation which is current but with which I am not an expert on.

In terms of wiggers I have heard it used by white kids as something to be
proud of and by black kids who use it to put them down.

It reminds me on some levels of cockney rhyming slang because it depends on
its validity on rules of word formation since you have to look back to the
origins of the terms and not to the actual pronunciation with which it has
very little relation. Thus as an old cockney friend might say if I had hit
my head, "You have a bump on your lump, Mite." which would mean that I had a
bump on my head ie. lump of lead. Or if someone would say that his feet were
sore he would say, "Your plites are sore, mite." which would mean that your
plates of meat, ie. feet, were hurting you.

I hope that this is of some use to you.

Page Stephens

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rachel E. Shuttlesworth" <rshuttle at BAMA.UA.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 9:28 AM
Subject: Twitchy?


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Rachel E. Shuttlesworth" <rshuttle at BAMA.UA.EDU>
> Organization: University of Alabama Libraries
> Subject:      Twitchy?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
>
> On another list I'm on, one related to library doings, someone recently
> referred to "teen goths and twitchy types". Another member responded with
>
> >  I have to ask the question, what is twitchy types?  A slang I'm too old
> > for?  M
>
> to which the original poster replied
>
> > Oh boy, I was almost hoping you wouldn't ask because it's another can of
> > worms ,
> > BUT Twitch = teen and witch.
> > Mostly those who are interested in Wicca.  Books by Amelia Atwater
Rhodes
> > and the Sweep Series are examples of what was on the list. I love to
tell
> > them that Ameila started writing and publishing when she was 13--they
are
> > always amazed and pleased.  It also opens the door for me to mention The
> > Outsiders.  My readings lists were only fiction titles, though we did
have
> > some non-fiction titles on the subject of Twitch.
>
> I've not heard this blend before and didn't find it in the ADS-L
> archives. A google search shows refs to Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I
> wonder if it started there or elsewhere. Are y'all familiar with it?
>
> Rachel
> ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
>
> Rachel E. Shuttlesworth
> Council on Library and Information Resources Post-Doctoral Fellow
> University of Alabama Libraries
> Box 870266, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0266
> Office: 205.348.4655/ Fax:205.348.8833
> rachel.e.shuttlesworth at ua.edu