Re: Re: Hoser (1981)

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

As Connie Eble so sensibly points out in her book on slang, there is no way
of knowing the etymologies of many such slang terms, especially those with
possibly "obscene" connotations. Frequently, all that can be said is that a term
has a number of possible origins.

Even a term that starts out as perfectly innocent may well be interpreted as
having sexual connotations, particularly if it is used pejoratively and is
used by young people. My work on the history of SUCK points out that SUCK was
used in various perjorative constructions for years without much thought being
given to its having sexual connotations. Only after fellatio itself became a
much less taboo topic did SUCK constructions become suspect, particularly in the
construction "X sucks" (a youth phenomenon of the 1970s that has stuck). Older
people objected all during the 1970s and 1980s and even into the 1990s that
this construction "must" be obscene.

I remember a similar situation in my childhood with "brownie points," a term
that was used to refer to the intangible results that one received for favors
one did for someone in power. Many people who used this term believed that
they were referring to the good deeds done by junior girl scouts. Others thought
it was related to the term "brown-nose," which they believed had to do with
applying one's nose to someone else's butt. I never could figure out why one
would get "points" for putting one's nose in such a place, but it certainly is a
powerful image, nonetheless--enough to sour me on the phrase "brownie
points"at a very early age.

It is not hard to imagine all sorts of non-obscene origins for a pejorative
term HOSER, but it seems to be natural for some people to assume that something
sexually suggestive is going on when they hear a new slang term.