East Texas blacks shake hands with Oxford University

[Page Stephens]

It was used quite often in the British comedy drama Rumpole of the Bailey
which was on PBS' Mystery Theater a few years ago.

It referred to a cheap wine and fitted Rumpole's status as a person who
defended lower class criminals.

The Rumpole series was based on the books of John Mortimer as I recall.

Page Stephens

----- Original Message -----
From: "Wilson Gray" <hwgray at EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2004 12:51 AM
Subject: East Texas blacks shake hands with Oxford University


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at EARTHLINK.NET>
> Subject:      East Texas blacks shake hands with Oxford University
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
>
> After we moved to Saint Louis, we still returned to Marshall, TX, on a
> regular basis. While there ca.1950, the big colored boys taught us
> young peppers new "bad" words not to be used in the presence of the
> 'rents. One of these was "plunk," a slang term for wine. I never heard
> "plunk" used for wine or anything else anywhere else that I've lived.
> Years later, I read somewhere or other that "plonk" was a slang term
> for wine used at Oxford University. I was amazed by the similarity of
> the two terms, Years after that, I met an Englishman who was a graduate
> of Oxford and, of course, the first thing that I asked him was whether
> it was true that "plonk" was a slang term for wine used at Oxford. He
> replied, "No, that's not true." And, of course, I was sorely
> disappointed. But then he continued, "We say 'plunk,''' And I was
> stunned.
>
> -Wilson Gray