Gump

[Dennis R. Preston]

>Please remember that there is a generation or two (and perhaps even
>a side of the Atlantic which believes 'Forrest' is the Ur-form.

dInIs



dInIs

>Was he consciously using it in reference to Forrest Gump? I had thought
>that the character's name, like that of Andy Gump, was "Gump" because of
>the term "gump" meaning 'foolish or stupid person' .
>
>At 08:23 PM 9/30/02 -0700, Dave Wilton wrote:
>>While having lunch with business associates today, one referred to a mutual
>>acquaintance as "a gump." The person in question is a software executive of
>>low-to-mediocre skills and talents who has a history of being present when
>>others do great things and reaping the benefits, despite his having
>>contributed little or nothing--much like the fictional character Forrest
>>Gump is present for many great historical events.
>>
>>I've never heard this used before.

--
Dennis R. Preston
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Languages
740 Wells Hall A
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
Office - (517) 353-0740
Fax - (517) 432-2736