"Scown"

[Wilson Gray]

OED gives "scowner" as a variant of "scunner," of persons: a nuisance,
a pest, a good-for-nothing. No example of this as applying to animals.

"Scown" is a traditional "street" word in East Texas BE. Everybody is
familiar with it, nobody uses it in writing - hence, it has no spelling
- or in polite conversation. It's "low-class," but not obscene. I've
never heard it used outside of the so-called "Ark-La-Tex" region.
However, since I didn't do much traveling when I lived in that area -
I've been to, e.g. Hope, AR, but I've never been to anyplace at all in
Louisiana - I was just wondering whether anyone else with Southern
roots was familiar with it.

-Wilson

On Jun 30, 2005, at 4:23 AM, RonButters at AOL.COM wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       RonButters at AOL.COM
> Subject:      Re: "Scown"
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> In a message dated 6/30/05 3:01:18 AM, wilson.gray at RCN.COM writes:
>
>
>> Is anyone else familiar with "scown" (rhymes with "clown"). Its
>> meaning
>> is akin to that of "rascal," to the extent that it can be used both of
>> humans as a mild insult and of animals.
>>
>> Get up, you lazy scown!/rascal!
>>
>> Look at that scown/rascal go! E.g. of a rabbit being chased by a
>> dog/of
>> a dog chasing a rabbit
>>
>> -Wilson Gray
>>
>
> This looks like no more than a clipping from SCOUNDREL. Who used it?
> When? I
> didn't check the OED -- did you? What else did you check? Google
> turned up
> nothing but an 1880 word (Northumberian, as I rdecall) for a switch
> (such as one
> might use to spank a child): <
> http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/durhamdialect/heslop.htm>.
>