[Lexicog] Origin and synonyms of "wimp"

[Fritz Goerling]

  Allan,
  When using this term in this "game",  the assumption is that men and women
have different communication styles
  ( that is why so many books are written about this fact nowadays) and as a
result have communication
  problems. So if a man TEASES another man (I wrote "insult" in quotation
marks), it is a mock insult.
  The other man, usually a friend, being fully aware that the perfect man
does not exist who understands
  women, will probably laugh. That is the spirit of the game: good-natured
bantering.
  What you say about trying to understand women is, of course, a worthy goal
(and vice versa) but that is not
  the point of the game.

  Nobody is perfect, I am nobody,

  Fritz





  Hi Fritz,

  I don't see a way to translate it as a derogatory term.  If I were to be
accused of "understanding women", it would come across to me as a
compliment.  I think that to seek such understanding is a worthy goal for a
man - particularly if he's married : )

  Allan

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: Fritz Goerling
    To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
    Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 5:39 AM
    Subject: RE: [Lexicog] Origin and synonyms of "wimp"


    A man with effeminate, unmanly characteristics that are opposed to the
usual stereotypical macho male behaviour
    would be a "Tunte" in German. That term is very derogatory. There is a
social game among men in Germany
    nowadays, where men "insult"/tease one another as "wimps" by all kinds
of terms (over 2000 already and new ones are
    coined every day). Among the top ones is "Frauenversteher" = a man who
understands women. Is there a good
    translation of that one into English?

    Fritz Goerling

    Don't know about the etymology of wimp, but an American English synonym
is
    ' wuss.' That one's origins seem clear: 'pussy' (derogatory, feminine
    acting male) => puss => wuss.  Some would say that using the word 'wuss'
    marks one as a 'wuss,' reluctant to use the less PC original term.

    Jim Long

    At 12:18 AM 6/25/2005 +0200, you wrote:
    >Where does "wimp" come from?
    >What are some of its  "synonyms" in English (American, British, or
other
    >variants of English)?
    >
    >Fritz Goerling



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