BULLOCKS - euph/typo/LA pron.?

[Dennis R. Preston]

"Donder" is an interesting mistake which might 
not be a typo. Could it have been influenced by 
English "thunder"?

Nearly all dictionaries I consulted give 
"ballocks" and "bollocks" as alternative 
spellings but no "bullocks". Perhaps this German 
band has a "'bulls-balls'pun in mind:

In der klassischen 4er Punkrock-Besetzung gründen 
sie die Punkband THE BULLOCKS" (engl. Ochsen) und 
setzen so die gute Düsseldorfer 
PunkRock-Tradition (Z.K., MITTAGSPAUSE, MALE, 
TOTE HOSEN, STUNDE X) fort.


dInIs



>on 3/5/05 12:36 pm, neil at neil at TYPOG.CO.UK wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       neil <neil at TYPOG.CO.UK>
>>  Subject:      BULLOCKS - euph/typo/LA pron.?
>>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>--> -
>>
>>  From the Acknowledgments of 'The Best Awful':
>>
>>  'For Tracey and Johnny -- thank you both so ['so' itals] -- bullocks -- much
>>  for your continued -- tits tits tits -- support. Without the two of you --
>>  cockring -- these lingering coughs would be more difficult to -- wanker --
>>  bear.'
>>
>>  --Carrie Fisher, 'The Best Awful', 2004 (Pocket Books, London, 2005, XIV)
>>
>>  It would seem that euphemism is unlikely, given the context and use of
>>  swearwords throughout the novel.
>>
>>  As for a typo, the only one I found was when reindeers Donner and Blitzen
>  > were referred to as Donder and Blitzen.
>>
>>  So is it LA pronunciation?
>>
>>  --Neil Crawford
>
>Sorry! Forgot to say I assume BULLOCKS is a variant of BOLLOCKS
>(testicles/nonsense).
>
>--Neil


--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages
A-740 Wells Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-3099
Fax: (517) 432-2736
preston at msu.edu