Mystery of "mungo" (from Van Lingle Mungo?)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Then there's the mysterious Planet Mongo and its villainous ruler,  Ming the Merciless, big deals in Flash Gordon serials of the '30s.

A personal note.  I used to wonder how Mungo Park got such a cool name.  In high school I was tempted to tell people to "call me Mungo."  Never did though.

JL

Your Name <jimsmuse at COMCAST.NET> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Your Name
Subject: Re: Mystery of "mungo" (from Van Lingle Mungo?)
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Larry mentioned Mungojerrie from T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", and Mr Gray mentioned the British pop-band but I'm fairly sure that Eliot lifted the cat's name from a certain Mungo Park (1771 - 1806), a Scotsman famous (well in Scotland anyway) for his African explorations. How that all translates to the discussion of the word "mungo" itself I don't know, but thought I should mention the only "Mungo" I am aware of that did not record a cheesy 70s pop hit.

Carrie Lowery
jimsmuse at comcast.net

-------------- Original message --------------

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Laurence Horn
> Subject: Re: Mystery of "mungo" (from Van Lingle Mungo?)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >>>I think this may answer the question. If the term is "mungo," and if it's
> >>>from the 1930s, and if it's from Brooklyn, all signs point to a
> >>>spread from the
> >>>Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Van Lingle Mungo. Was he known for throwing garbage
> >>>pitches?
> >>>...
> >>He started out as a fastball pitcher, but evidently threw out his arm
> >>and tried (unsuccessfully) to come back as a junkballer. See
> >>http://www.thedeadballera.com/BadBoneMungo.html
> >>
> >>larry
> >
> >And then there's the one-hit wonder of the ca. late '60's-early
> >'70's, Mungo Jerry.
> >
> >-Wilson Gray
>
> and wasn't that name borrowed from the eponymous feline ("I might
> mention Mungojerrie/I might mention Griddlebone") from T. S. Eliot
> "Old Possum's Book of Cats" (who later made it onto the Broadway
> stage)?
>
> larry


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