"Turd Ferguson" slang book; Indiana "Pitch-In Supper" (1923)

[Wilson Gray]

On Sep 7, 2004, at 12:14 AM, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
> Subject:      "Turd Ferguson" slang book; Indiana "Pitch-In Supper"
> (1923)
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
>  Two from Google News, which sometimes doesn't have Barry Popik
> stories.
>  =20
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----=
> --
> --------------------------------------------
> TURD FERGUSON
>  =20
> http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?
> pagename=3DWSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ=
> _Rel
> ishArticle&c=3DMGArticle&cid=3D1031777684387&path=3D!entertainment!
> general&
> s=3D1037645508970
> Slang Thang: Two WFU grads wrote the book on college slang
>
> Wednesday, September 1, 2004
> Winston-Salem Journal  =20
> (...)
> Now, Applebaum and Pittman have written a book, Turd Ferguson & The
> Sausage=20
> Party: An Uncensored Guide to College Slang (iUniverse, Inc., $11.95).
> The b=
> ook=20
> is a collection of some of the most interesting slang phrases used on
> colleg=
> e=20
> campuses.
> (...)
> =E2=80=A2 Bar Scar: All the wristbands and ink left over after making
> the ro=
> unds at=20
> the bars.
> =E2=80=A2 Cash Cow: An ATM.
> =E2=80=A2 Greek Freak: A new pledge who is super-absorbed in
> sorority/frater=
> nity=20
> goings-on.
> =E2=80=A2 Hallcest: The dangerous act of getting with someone on your
> hall.
> =E2=80=A2 Hitting the Snooze Bar: To continue to hook up with someone
> even t=
> hough you=20
> should really break up. Prolonging the inevitable.
> =E2=80=A2 Kelvin Club: The rare feat of having a GPA that equals
> absolute ze=
> ro.
> Liquid Encouragement: Refers to how alcohol can help you be able to
> talk or=20
> attempt to talk to anyone.
> =E2=80=A2 Osmosis: A method of study employed by crammers who fall
> asleep wi=
> th their=20
> heads on their books. Not very reliable.
> =E2=80=A2 Party Foul: An incident that goes against the rules of the
> party.=20=
> For=20
> example, spilling your glass of red wine on the Dean=E2=80=99s white
> carpet=20=
> during an=20
> elegant mixer or mistaking the coat closet for a bathroom.
> =E2=80=A2 Pizza Bones: The uneaten crust of a pizza. Often scavenged
> by chea=
> p friends=20
> like Barry down the hall.
> =E2=80=A2 Sausage Party: A gathering of many more men than women.
> =E2=80=A2 Sexiled: When someone is forced to sleep outside his/her
> room when=
>  his/her=20
> roomate wants to have sex in the room.
> =E2=80=A2 Tomb of the Dead Soldiers: A trashcan filled with many, many
> beer=20=
> cans.
> =E2=80=A2 Turd Ferguson: A social sore who decides things like
> exposing ones=
> elf in=20
> public or driving drunk are good ideas.
> =E2=80=A2 Vitamin N: Short for vitamin nicotine. Refers to having a
> cigarett=
> e first=20
> thing in the morning.
> =E2=80=A2 Vurp: When you burp but some vomit comes up, too. A very
> nasty exp=
> erience.   =20
>
>      =20
> (Pizza Bones? Me?...The HDAS has "dead soldiers" as the latest slang=20
> from...1899!--ed.)
>  =20
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----=
> --
> --------------------------------------------
> INDIANA "PITCH-IN"
>  =20
> http://www.indystar.com/articles/7/172637-9237-047.html=20
> Indiana 'pitches in' with its own brand of slang terminology   =20
> August 24, 2004
> =20
> Hoosiers speak their own language. Here's a quick glossary of terms,
> courtes=
> y=20
> of the Indiana University Department of Linguistics.
>
> Pitch-in: A gathering where everyone contributes a dish to eat, known
> by the=
> =20
> rest of the English-speaking world as a potluck.
>
> Mango: Ha! You thought it was a tropical fruit. For some weird reason,
> a lot=
> =20
> of folks around Bloomington and Terre Haute use this word to describe
> a gree=
> n=20
> pepper.
>
> Toboggan: Nope, not a sled. To Hoosiers in the southern part of the
> state,=20
> this is a knit cap worn in winter.
>
> Nibnose: A nosey person. Can also be an adjective, e.g. "She's
> awfully=20
> nibbey."
>
> Giggin' (as opposed to gigging): Hunting frogs in order to eat frog
> legs.
>
> Sweep the carpet: Vacuum the carpet.
>
> Cheese toasty: Fort Wayne-speak for a grilled-cheese sandwich.
>
> Hoosier: There are hundreds of stories about where the word comes
> from, but=20
> it's most widely believed to have originated in the Appalachian
> Mountains as=
>  a=20
> pejorative term for an unrefined, country roughneck. Turns out a lot
> of nati=
> ve=20
> Indiana people's ancestors migrated here from Virginia and West
> Virginia. In=
> =20
> St. Louis, hoosier is still pretty much an insult

"Very much an insult" is more like it. A lot of white people in St.
Louis consider "hoosier" to be easily the equivalent of "nigger,"
despite the fact that black people in St. Louis have never referred to
white people that way. Well, that's probably irrelevant, given that
it's very difficult for the bottoms to find a way to hurt the feelings
of the tops. I've heard "Missouri hoosier" as well as the simple form
used by white people from Southern Illinois and I've heard "hoojie," an
obvious variant of "hoosier," occasionally used by black people from
Little Egypt (Cairo, IL, and environs). In general, though, among black
Americans, once you've said that a person is white, all that needs to
be said has been said.

-Wilson Gray

> , but here it's come to mea=
> n=20
> anyone from Indiana.
>
> -- Courtenay Edelhart
>  =20
> (Wrong about "Hoosier." See my excellent "Hoosier" piece in the old
> ADS-L=20
> archives...DARE has "pitch-in dinner" from 1965-70--ed.)
>  =20
>  =20
> (WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
>    Indianapolis Star    Monday, May 07, 1923 Indianapolis, Indiana =20
> ...home, that the day closed with a "PITCH-IN" SUPPER, she said,
> VOh,=20
> they.....wore straw hats IN snow time and furs IN summer. "I lived IN
> the da=
> ys when..
> Pg. 6, col. 7:
> When we mentioned to a friend, on coming home, that the day closed
> with a=20
> "pitch in" supper, she said, "Oh, they have them in Greensburg, too?"
> So thi=
> s=20
> institution is evidently not peculiar to Tipton. Its neighborliness
> and good=
> =20
> fellowship would make one wish that it was not limited to one
> locality, but=20
> belonged to the entire state.
>        =20
>    Indianapolis Star    Sunday, June 08, 1924 Indianapolis, Indiana
> =20
> ...day. The Kentland chapter will have a PITCH-IN SUPPER on June 13
> with Mrs=
> .=20
> E.....for Mrs. Jessie Logan. The ;annual PITCH-IN dINner will be held
> -IN=20
> the..  =20
> Pg. 30, col. 3:
> The annual pitch-in dinner will be held in the city park this month.
> (Rushville--ed.)
> Pg. 30, col. 4:=20
> The Kentland chapter will have a pitch-in supper on June 13 with Mrs.
> E. S.=20
> Hess, Mrs. Faye Burgess and Mrs. Virginia Spradling as members of the
> commit=
> tee=20
> in charge.
>  =20
>    Newark Advocate  Saturday, August 08, 1936 Newark, Ohio =20
> ...I Fred WatkINs. William R. Dean, a PITCH-IN SUPPER and stay for=20
> the.....monthly busINess meetINg and potluck SUPPER Monday at 6 p. m.
> Sunday=
>  school.. =20
>     =20
>    Chronicle Telegram   Thursday, October 14, 1937 Elyria, Ohio    =20
> ...LAQRAXGE Gleaners' Class will hold a "PITCH-IN" SUPPER and
> Hallowe'en=20
> party at.....Night. X. The 115th anniversary SUPPER will be held at
> the..  =20=
> =20
>       =20
>  Lima News  Friday, November 06, 1942 Lima, Ohio   =20
> ...for the group's first social event, a "PITCH-IN-SUPPER." Miss
> Znlia=20
> Harbaugh.....n-.is-INn-. nil 3-DIAMOND BEAUTY Rich IN beauty rich IN
> rich IN=
> =20
> quality. 2..   =20
>        =20
>  Walla Walla Union Bulletin     Thursday, July 18, 1946 Walla Walla,=20
> Washington=20
> ...slowly. thick add broken nut meats and PITCH-IN SUPPER Your Answer
> to=20
> Guest.....IN for SUPPER. Why not ask them to PITCH IN and contribute
> their=20
> favorite.. =20
>  =20
>  Daily Independent  Wednesday, August 31, 1955 Kannapolis, North
> Carolina  =20
> ...harvest time. Call ft what you will. PITCH-IN SUPPER. Barn dance.
> Or=20
> corn.....Patterson, and that evenINg were SUPPER guests of Mr: 'and
> Mrs. j R=
> ev.. =20
>      =20
>  Great Bend Daily Tribune   Friday, September 02, 1955 Great Bend,
> Kansas=20
> ...etijoy harvest time. it what you will. PITCH-IN SUPPER. Barn dance.
> Or=20
> com.....29. The next family card pSty and SUPPER will be given by Mrs.
> Henry=
> =20
> Cook..  =20
>      =20
>  Herald     Thursday, January 22, 1959 Chicago, Illinois   =20
> ...Game Dear Peg' Our foursome had its PITCH-IN SUPPER recently and
> the=20
> food.....The tricky answer to this one was IN the first Whoever IN the
> audie=
> nce..=20
>        =20
>    Sheboygan Press  Friday, August 06, 1965 Sheboygan, Wisconsin   =20
> ...call a potluck meal, they call a "PITCH IN." Jane also noted that IN
> stead.....O, II County Delegates Learn About INdiana 4-H Clubs Johnson
> Count=
> y,=20
> from..   =20
> Pg. 18?, col. 8:
> Jane Mayhew, Meadowlarks 4-H Club, said that Indiana people use many=20
> different speaking terms. What Sheboygan County people call a potluck
> meal,=20=
> they call=20
> a "pitch in." Jane also noted that instead of them seving milk for
> meals the=
> y=20
> served iced tea.
>     =20
>  Newark Advocate    Monday, April 07, 1969 Newark, Ohio    =20
> ...Kappa Gamma S o c i e t y. p .m.. 'PITCH-IN-SUPPER" and meetINg,=20
> with.....for visitINg KINgswood Gardens IN Mansfield. LosINg lassies
> TOPS Me=
> t at..   =20
>  =20
> -------
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----=
> --------------------------------------
> COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC
>  =20
> WHERE DID BARRY POPIK EAT TODAY?--My sister's home in Scarsdale. My
> autistic=
> =20
> nephew would come to the kitchen, grab five cookies, and
> disappear--about=20
> every fifteen minutes of my visit. "He's a cookie monster!" my sister
> said.=20=
> "A BIG=20
> cookie monster."
>  =20
> WHERE DID BARRY POPIK EAT YESTERDAY?--Togo's Sandwiches for lunch,
> Olive=20
> Garden for dinner--two chains I've never tried. Someone at work said
> that it=
> 's "To=20
> Go," but I was told it's Togo like Pogo. There is a Togo's on E. 68th
> and=20
> First Avenue, together with Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins. My
> cheese san=
> dwich=20
> lunch was just OK. Olive Garden in Times Square was standard.
>  =20
> Coming home from Olive Garden, I walked past Big Apple Corner, then to
> the=20
> Ziegfeld Theater, and then saw three Big Apple Fest apples in the
> alley ther=
> e,=20
> right by City Center. A car came by and some people were shouting
> "WOOOO!" A=
> =20
> woman took off her top...That doesn't happen often enough in NYC, IMHO.
>