<HTML dir=ltr><HEAD><TITLE>Re: [Corpora-List] Numpties and bennies</TITLE>
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<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>In the British Armed Services bennies are benzedrine tablets. During the war, bomber pilots/ crew members took them to help them deal with the exhaustion/stress of the long runs to their 'drop' sites. British commando units also took them-in fact, I think, were issued them! </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Pilots certainly used (use?) the term 'bennies' to refer to benzedrine tablets..</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ian Fleming knew of the fondness of British espionage types for amphetamines. In his novels (tougher and grittier than the ridiculous films! ) James Bond takes benzedrine tablets on a few occasions. This actually features in the wikipedia enrty for benzedrine!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzedrine">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzedrine</A></DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> owner-corpora@lists.uib.no on behalf of pheacock@cambridge.org<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wed 06/12/2006 15:13<BR><B>To:</B> Harold Somers<BR><B>Cc:</B> corpora@lists.uib.no<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Corpora-List] Numpties and bennies<BR></FONT><BR></DIV></DIV>
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<P><FONT size=2>My corpora of American English show four occurrences of "bennies" meaning<BR>benefits (in a nonsexual way), two from the ANC, and I remember this usage<BR>as being popular among 1980s yuppies. Examples are:<BR><BR> Since there is no dispute that Espy received some 35,000 worth of goods<BR> and bennies from parties with interests before Agriculture and since<BR> some of those parties pleaded guilty to making illegal gifts, it's easy<BR> for the reader to wonder how the clean-sweep verdict was possible.<BR><BR> In addition to a package full of lush bennies, Merck provides 96% of<BR> retiree health-care premiums.<BR><BR> Yes, they'll get these bennies from Uncle Sam - but not until they've<BR> been on active duty for 30 days, which means that their families could<BR> be left hanging in the meantime.<BR><BR> I can't logically reconcile her objections to gaining the weight with<BR> the bennies of taking the role.<BR><BR><BR>I have no occurrences of "numpties" or "numpty".<BR><BR>Cheers<BR>Paul<BR><BR>Paul Heacock<BR>Electronic Publishing Manager, ELT<BR>Commissioning Editor, ELT Reference<BR>Cambridge University Press<BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR> "Harold Somers" <BR> <harold.somers@ma <BR> nchester.ac.uk> To<BR> Sent by: <corpora@lists.uib.no> <BR> owner-corpora@lis cc<BR> ts.uib.no <BR> Subject<BR> [Corpora-List] Numpties and bennies<BR> 12/06/2006 07:06 <BR> AM <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>A colleague has just emailed me suggesting that the word "numpty" has<BR>become non-PC because of its association with Downs syndrome. I've never<BR>made that association ... Has anyone else?<BR><BR>A trawl of the standard "references" suggests that numpty is a Scottish<BR>slang word (meaning 'idiot' or 'incompetent person') and is being<BR>considered fro inclusion in the next edition of the OED; but<BR>interestingly its total absence from the BNC suggests either that it has<BR>only recently entered the language, and/or that Scottish English is<BR>under-represented in the BNC.<BR><BR>Would I be right in thinking that the word is entirely unknown in AmE?<BR><BR>On a similar theme, I was thinking about the word "benny", a slang term<BR>which had a brief life in BrE. With the same meaning as numpty, its<BR>etymology is a character in a soap (Crossroads I think) called Benny who<BR>was "intellectually challenged". I seem to remember a news article<BR>during the Falklands War in which soldiers were being admonished because<BR>their slang word for Falkland Islanders was "bennies".<BR><BR>"A benny" occurs twice in the BNC, both times in the same source (KCE -<BR>a conversation recorded by `Helena' (PS0EB)) as follows:<BR><BR>KCE 7007 so she had a bit of a benny it was<BR>KCE 7260 I hadn't had a benny for a few days actually<BR><BR>Helena also talks about "bennies":<BR>KCE 7258 Not that I ever have major bennies or anything<BR><BR>I'm guessing that here she means a "benzedrine" tablet, though that<BR>interpretation doesn't really fit the syntax (a bit of a benny, major<BR>bennies). Anyone any idea what a benny is in this context? (Perhaps the<BR>surrounding text can help - what is the topic of the conversation?).<BR><BR>There's one other occurrence of "bennies" in the BNC, from "Skinhead" by<BR>Nick Knight, the meaning of which I think is "Ben Sherman shirts"<BR>ARP 213 Most skinhead girls, sometimes called rennes, would wear<BR>bennies, button-fly red tags, white socks and penny loafers or monkey<BR>boots.<BR><BR><BR>Harold Somers<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>