Hindoo (1974) (and more "Brooklynese")

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Sun Mar 19 00:41:24 UTC 2006


I thought that the cliché was "Dem Bums" = the old Brooklyn Dodgers. I've
never heard "lallygaggin'," but St. Louis BE has "lollygaggin'" with the
same meaning.

-Wilson

On 3/18/06, Bapopik at aol.com <Bapopik at aol.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
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> Subject:      Hindoo (1974) (and more "Brooklynese")
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _Youse  Might Need a Translation_
> (
> http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=2&did=669081422&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=10&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=HNP&TS=11
> 42706810&clientId=65882)
> Los Angeles Times (1886-Current  File). Los Angeles, Calif.: Aug 12, 1974.
> p.
> A4 (1 page)
> ...
> _Youse Might Need a Translation_
> From Newsday
> ...
> Brooklynese and their translations:
> ...
> Ast -- To inquire, as in "If de dicks ast you, say youse don't
> know  nuttin."
> ...
> Baloney -- Empty talk; as in "That's a lotta baloney." A coruption of
> blarney.
> ...
> Berl -- Boil, as in "berld eggs."
> ...
> Biddy -- A gossip; from Bridget, a common Irish name now taken over bythe
> French.
> ...
> Card --A humorous fellow or practical joker, as in "He's a card."
> From  Irish
> caird, a wandering tramp or tinkers.
> ...
> Cheese It -- Look out! As in "Cheese it, de cops!"
> ...
> Chickey -- A lookout, as in "to lay chickey" or a warning, as in "Chickey,
> the cops."
> ...
> Doze -- A pronoun, as in "doze bums."
> ...
> Erster -- A succulent bivalve, as in "fried ersters."
> ...
> Foist -- First, as in "Who's on foist?"
> ...
> Force -- False, as in "force alarm."
> ...
> Gab, Gabby -- Empty talk, as in "gift of gab." From Irish gob, mouth.
> ...
> Gob -- Mouth, as in "shut you gob."
> ...
> Gom -- A foolish person, a simpleton, as in "You big gom!" Fro mIrish
> gom,  a
> simpleton.
> ...
> Guff, Guffy -- Backtalk, as in "I want none of yer guff" or "Don't
> get  guffy
> wit me.: From Irish guth, pronounced guff.
> ...
> Herst -- To raise, as in "to herst a flat."
> ...
> Hindoo -- A term used in handball to indicate a hinderance. A corruption
> of
> "hinder."
> ...
> Hurl -- A famous authority on card games, as in "according to Hurl."
> ...
> Jints -- Giants, a bunch of palookas who represented New York in the
> National League, Public Enemy No. 1 in Greenpernt.
> ...
> Kern -- To invent, as in "to kern a phrase."
> ...
> Lallygaggin -- wasting time, as in "Quitcha lallygaggin and get  woiking."
> ...
> Mickey -- A potato, probably from "Mick," American slang for Irishman.
> Many
> Irish names begin with Mc.
> ...
> Oil --An English nobleman, as "the Oil of Doiby."
> ...
> Palooka -- A gom, as in "Yuh big palooka." Pure Brooklynese, and,
> according
> to a writer in the American Mercury of March, 1929, may be Irish.
> Wentworth
> and  Flexner also give an Irish etymology for this word.
>
>
> ...
>
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>

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