BULLOCKS - euph/typo/LA pron.?

[Laurence Horn]

At 5:02 AM -0700 5/3/05, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>"Ballocks" (often spelled "bollocks" these days) is so atypical of
>general American speech that there is no "LA pronunciation."  Nor I
>think, would any American be likely to euphemize it with another
>word ("bullock") that barely exists here.
>
>My vote is for "author's bad spelling."
>
>JL

It might also be relevant that for ages (and I assume into the
present) Bullocks is an upscale department store in L.A.

Larry

>
>neil <neil at TYPOG.CO.UK> wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: neil
>Subject: Re: BULLOCKS - euph/typo/LA pron.?
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>on 3/5/05 12:36 pm, neil at neil at TYPOG.CO.UK wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender: American Dialect Society
>>  Poster: neil
>>  Subject: BULLOCKS - euph/typo/LA pron.?
>>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>--> -
>>
>>  From the Acknowledgments of 'The Best Awful':
>>
>>  'For Tracey and Johnny -- thank you both so ['so' itals] -- bullocks -- much
>>  for your continued -- tits tits tits -- support. Without the two of you --
>>  cockring -- these lingering coughs would be more difficult to -- wanker --
>>  bear.'
>>
>>  --Carrie Fisher, 'The Best Awful', 2004 (Pocket Books, London, 2005, XIV)
>>
>>  It would seem that euphemism is unlikely, given the context and use of
>>  swearwords throughout the novel.
>>
>>  As for a typo, the only one I found was when reindeers Donner and Blitzen
>>  were referred to as Donder and Blitzen.
>>
>>  So is it LA pronunciation?
>>
>>  --Neil Crawford
>
>Sorry! Forgot to say I assume BULLOCKS is a variant of BOLLOCKS
>(testicles/nonsense).
>
>--Neil
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
>http://mail.yahoo.com