ootsie?

[Alice Faber]

On Monday, April 8, 2002, at 03:20  PM, Towse wrote:

> Anne Curzan wrote:
>>
>> Does anyone know anything about the word "ootsie" and what it means? Tim
>> Eyman, the sponsor of several tax-cutting initiatives out here in
>> Seattle, is under investigation for apparent violations of
>> campaign-finance laws. In an email that was recently quoted in the
>> papers out here, Eyman writes:
>>
>> "I get ootsie even typing in the number but given the fundraising
>> trajectory and the potential, it's the salary I want to try for."
>>
>> I just had a reporter call me asking what it might mean. Can anyone help
>> here?
>
> "ootsie" in this context probably means "gooey inside."
>
> "ootsie" is the inside of a Tootsie Roll.

My first thought was that it might be a variant of "ootchie", meaning
'antsy, uncomfortable'. I'm not sure where that thought came from, though.
  I'm pretty sure we had a discussion of the verb "ooch", including both
vowel quality and meaning, some years back.
--
Alice Faber
Haskins Laboratories                                    Tel: (203) 865-6163
270 Crown St                                            FAX: (203) 865-8163
New Haven, CT 06511 USA                              faber at haskins.yale.edu