<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">L O W L A N D S - L - 20 July 2007 - Volume 03</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">=========================================================================</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">From: </span><span id="_user_theohoman@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25); font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Theo Homan <<a href="mailto:theohoman@yahoo.com">theohoman@yahoo.com
</a>></span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.07.20 (01) [E]</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 40px; color: rgb(51, 0, 51); font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span class="q">From: Maria Elsie Zinsser <<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:ezinsser@icon.co.za">
ezinsser@icon.co.za</a>><br>Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.07.19 (04) [E]<br><br>Hi all,<br><br></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 40px; color: rgb(51, 0, 51); font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
[...]<br></div><div style="direction: ltr; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" class="q"></span><br style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" class="q">
Other euphemisms that he is aware of are: Kot (God),</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" class="q">maaifoelie (mother f***), moervaring (mother f***),</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">
<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" class="q">blikslater (bliksem), hardekwas (hardegat), aapstert</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" class="q">(a***hole), etc. etc. etc.</span>
<br style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" class="q"></span><br style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" class="q">Goeie môre!</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">
<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);" class="q">Elsie Zinsser</span><br><span class="q"></span></div><span class="q"><br></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Elsie,<br><br>I'm trying not to get involved in this discussion as
<br>I'm afraid to find out that my foul language is a<br>superior kind.<br><br>But 'blikslater' reminds me a lot of dutch<br>'blikskaters'; a soft expression now outdated but<br>still to be found in childrenbooks written before the
<br>1940's.<br><br><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://vr.gr/" target="_blank">vr.gr</a>.<br></div><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;" class="sg">Theo Homan<br><br>----------
<br><br></span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">From: </span><span id="_user_heatherrendall@tiscali.co.uk" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 28); font-family: arial,sans-serif;">"<a href="mailto:heatherrendall@tiscali.co.uk">
heatherrendall@tiscali.co.uk</a>"</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.07.20 (01) [E]</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148); font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Sandy Fleming</span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> wrote</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">However, none of the sentences you suggested make sense. A person can't</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
be a word of any kind! I think to make sense you'd have to say: </span>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">"His name was a byword in depravity."<br><br>This means that in depraved circles his name was a byword (ie, anybody<br>moving in depraved company would recognise it).
<br><br>Or you could say (and it's an even bigger insult): <br><br>"His name is a byword for depravity."<br><br>This is like saying people actually mention his name to suggest the idea<br>that something or someone else is depraved, by comparing them to him in
<br>some way. <br><br> Of course! I knew the sentences didn't ring true to my ear but I couldn't work out what was wrong<br>I think its possible origin as being cognate with "Beispiel / Beispell" meaning 'an example' makes perfect sense:
</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">His name was (an example) of depravity</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">The dodo is( an example) of man-made extinction </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">In which case is it really the case that a person cannot be the subject of being a byword</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Casanova himself was a byword for lechery</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Casanova's name was a byword for lechery</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">????</div>
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Heather</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"></span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">