hoeboy (?)

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM
Sun Dec 23 16:47:25 UTC 2007


HDAS broaches the possibility that _hobo_ < _ho(e)-boy_ as marginally more plausible than a derivation from "Ho! Bo(y)!"



  JL

"Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at MST.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Cohen, Gerald Leonard"
Subject: Re: hoeboy (?)
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Mike Walsh (editor of the Subterranean) frequently used "hoeboy" as a =
term of invective, but even though I read through every article of The =
Subterranean during my research on "shyster," I never came across a =
passage which clearly explained just what a hoeboy is. =20
=20
Btw, the Subterranean passage below about Conrad Sweidenmeyer is =
mentioned in the book _Origin of The Term "Hot Dog,_" co-authored by =
Barry Popik, the late David Shulman, and myself, 2004.
=20
Also, btw, George Thompson's postings from his searches of early NYC =
newspapers are very valuable and deserve to be compiled for formal =
publication.
=20
Gerald Cohen

________________________________

From: American Dialect Society on behalf of George Thompson
Sent: Sat 12/22/2007 8:13 PM

An unprincipled scoundrel, named Conrad Sweidenmeyer, or some such =
outlandish name, has long been in the habit of making sausages and =
Bologna puddings out of dead rats, cats, dogs, and even horses, by which =
abominable villainy he has realized a considerable fortune. *** People =
can not be too cautious how they even touch sausages -- even when made =
properly and by Christians, there is something disgusting about them; =
but as they are now made, by hoeboys, and out of putrid dogs and rats, =
they are truly horrifying. The sale of them ought to be interdicted by =
law.
Subterranean, June 28, 1845, p. 2, col. 3

Is this perhaps "hoe-boy", i. e., farmer? Sweidenmeyer seems like a =
typical city guy, though. But perhaps other sausage vendors at the time =
were from the country. Otherwise, I'm baffled.

Bon appetit.

GAT

George A. Thompson

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