beezark (1919)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Could also be a blend of "bizarre" + "berserk."

Unfortunately, while "be(e)zarks" might have been "bizarre," I see no evidence that they were ever regarded as "berserk," even in the manner of a "kook" or a "screwball."

JL

"Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Cohen, Gerald Leonard"
Subject: Re: beezark (1919)
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My guess is it's from "beserk." For the vowel in "-zark" cf. "varsity" from "(uni)versity.

Gerald Cohen

* * * *

Original message from Benjamin Zimmer, 6/30/05:
> "Be(e)zark" (HDAS: "an odd or contemptible man or woman") was recently discussed on Ray Davis' Pseudopodium blog:
>
> http://www.pseudopodium.org/ht-20050423.html#2005-05-11
>
> HDAS has it from ca1925 (Damon Runyon, _Poems for Men_).
>
> -----
> 1919 _Atlanta Constitution_ 25 May B3/2 THE BUGS have no use for the
> beezark who carries a picture of himself in the back of his watch. It's a crippled loving cup that only has one handle. ["Two and Three: Putting the Next One Over" by Bugs Baer]
> -----
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>
>
>


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