siditty, saditty (1963), siddity (1965)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 18:57:27 -0400, Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

>On 7/20/05, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at rci.rutgers.edu> wrote:
[snip re: "dic(k)ty", "hinkty"]
>> Any possible connection here with the derogatory terms "dinky" and
>> "hunky"? Both appear in the glossary accompanying Rudolph Fisher's
>> _The Walls of Jericho_ (1928), listed under "boogy" as "synonyms of
>> Negro". Probably unrelated --
>
>> HDAS guesses that "dink(y)" is an alteration of "dinge"/"dingy."

(Just to clarify, HDAS is just talking about the derivation of the racial
epithet, apparently unrelated to the Scottish-derived senses of "dinky".)

>My mother told me that, when she was young - ca.1914-1932 - the local
>train that connected Marshall, TX with Longview, TX, was known as "The
>Dinky," but only because it was literally "dinky," in the sE sense.
>Its only raison d'etre was to transport blacks living west of Marshall
>in Longview to their jobs in Marshall's railroad shops, sawmills,
>piney woods, potteries, etc. and back.

The only "Dinky" I'm familiar with is the one-car shuttle train between
Princeton Junction (on the Amtrak/NJ Transit line) and Princeton Borough
near the university. (Needless to say, there's little chance of a racial
double entendre given the local demographics.)

HDAS has "dinky" meaning "short branch railway" back to 1905 (Dialect
Notes). Princeton's "Dinky" line dates back to 1865, according to this
article, though it doesn't say how old the nickname is:

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2004/04/29/arts/10455.shtml


--Ben Zimmer