ffolliott

[Joel S. Berson]

Try http://tinyurl.com/ygtqufk or

http://books.google.com/books?id=XMUMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA212&dq=names+%22double+lower+case+f%22&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

An article from The New England Historical and Genealogical Register,
allegedly vol. 27 (April, 1893), p. 212.  It contains a very short
letter from the "keeper of the manuscript department of the British
Museum", saying that "the British legal handwriting of the middle
ages has no capital f.  A double f (ff) was used to represent the
capital letter."

[Why no other doubled initial lower-case letters for capitals?  Not addressed.]

Apocryphal?  Legendary?  Traditional?

Joel


At 2/8/2010 09:00 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>Whatever.
>
>The bigger questions are, "Whence these doubled lower-case initials?  Why is
>only initial "F" seemingly affected?  Can I do the same with "L" ?
>
>JL
>On Sun, Feb 7, 2010 at 11:25 PM, Jonathan Lighter
><wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: ffolliott
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Maybe he said, "fuh-finch...."
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Sun, Feb 7, 2010 at 11:13 PM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >  > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: ffolliott
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > On Sun, Feb 07, 2010 at 10:32:49AM -0500, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > > When I was ten or eleven I saw an old movie on TV that contained the
> > > > following bit of dialogue. It always stuck in my mind, which shows that
> > > by
> > > > that age your kid's fate is sealed.
> > > > I'm posting it because I just saw the movie again for the first time
> > > since
> > > > and it confirmed my recollection. Till now I had no idea what movie it
> > > was
> > > > because this was the only part I remembered:
> > > >
> > > > Johnny Jones: This is Scott ffolliott, newspaperman same as you....Mr.
> > > > Haverstock, Mr. ffolliott.
> > > > Scott ffolliott: With a double 'F'.
> > > > Johnny Jones: How do you do?
> > > > Scott ffolliott: How do you do?
> > > > Johnny Jones: I don't get the double 'F'.
> > > > Scott ffolliott: They're at the beginning. Both small 'F's
> > > > Johnny Jones: They can't be at the beginning.
> > > > Scott ffolliott: One of my ancestors was beheaded by Henry VIII. His
> > wife
> > > > dropped the capital letter to commemorate it. There it is.
> > > > Johnny Jones: How do you say it, like a stutter?
> > > > Scott ffolliott: Just a straight 'fuh'.
> > > >
> > > > There was, of course, the noted English historian "Charles ffoulkes"
> > > [sic].
> > > > His surname derives from the same source as that of Guy Fawkes, so
> > > perhaps
> > > > Mr. ffolliott's practice reflects that of Mr. ffoulkes's ffamily.
> > >
> > > ...All of which reminds me of my favorite passage in all of
> > > P.G. Wodehouse (and that is a very high peak indeed):
> > >
> > >   "Sir Jasper Finch-Farrowmere?" said Wilfred.
> > >   "ffinch-ffarrowmere," corrected the visitor, his sensitive ear
> > > detecting the capitals.
> > >
> > > -- P. G. Wodehouse, "A Slice of Life"
> > >
> > > Jesse Sheidlower
> > > OED
> > >
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> > >
> >
> >
> >
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>
>
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>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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