[Lexicog] Words formed on the pattern "participle - ing + first name"

[Susan Gehr]

Waltzing Matilda?




On 11/16/05 3:06 AM, "Fritz Goerling" <Fritz_Goerling at sil.org> wrote:

> Recently I corresponded with someone on this list about the meaning of a
> German
> compound word following the pattern 'verb/noun + a first name as a suffix,'
> like:
>  
> Zappelphilipp = a boy who can't sit still
> Laberheini = rambling person (Heini is short for Heinrich)
> Heulsuse = someone (man or woman) who cries a lot (Suse is short for Susanne)
>  
> I am interested in knowing how productive this kind of word formation is in
> English.
> I am not looking for examples like "slick Willie, tricky Dick, nervous Nelly,
> honest Abe,"
> some of which have become more or less common expressions. I am interested
> in examples of the kind 'participle -ing + first name' which seem to
> correspond
> to the German pattern mentioned above. Examples would be "smoking Joe" (for
> the
> boxer Joe Frazier), "studying Jesse," "peeping Tom," "doubting Thomas",
>  especially if they have "made it" to become common expressions and are
> included in the dictionary.
>  
> Fritz Goerling
>  
>  
> 
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