"mountain boomer"

[Gregory {Greg} Downing]

At 03:05 PM 4/25/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>And what about the _boomer_--DARE suggests (s.v. "boomer,"
>which used alone postdates "mountain boomer" by 20 years) that it's
>from standard _boom_ 'to make a hollow sound', but surely the
>squirrel, or the beaver or the lizard, doesn't make such a sound.
>

I'm sure there's much more to be said on this, but websites claim that these
names derive from old folk beliefs that these animals actually did make loud
sounds. An example:

http://www.reptilemall.com/caresheets/collared.html

Collared Lizards
Crotaphytus collaris

[...]

Known in some areas as the "mountain boomer" because it was mistakenly
though to emit a sound that echoed through the mountain valleys, it is the
state lizard of Oklahoma. Collareds are noted for their upright running on
their hind legs, giving them the appearance of miniature T. rex's (though
this may rarely be seen in captivity as their enclosures do not provide
enough room for such runs). They also have an interesting way of waving
their tail, much like a cat, before grabbing at prey. They are capable of
hard bites, but generally tame quickly. Collareds are relatively long-lived
lizards.

[end of quoted material]

**************************

And wouldn't this folk belief render fairly transparent the semantic
development resulting in the "hillbilly" sense? I.e., from a name for a
loud-mouthed mountain animal to a pejorative term for an uncouth mountain
dweller....


Greg Downing, at greg.downing at nyu.edu or gd2 at nyu.edu