"knock up" --usage

[Jonathan Lighter]

Charles F. Browne was a famous pre-Twainian humorist of the 1860s.  He wrote in the character of "Artemus Ward," an occasionally insightful moron.  "Ward" was only semiliterate, and his ridikilus orthografy kept people in stitches when they weren't trying to shoot each other during the Civil War.  Every so often, "Ward" would label one of his comments "(Goak.)" or "(Goak here.)"  "Goak" meant "joke."  Readers laffed and laffed when they saw the word "goak," because they knew only a moron would spell that way.  Then they'd put the book down and go back to shooting each other.

JL

"Mark A. Mandel" <mamandel at LDC.UPENN.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Mark A. Mandel"
Subject: Re: "knock up" --usage
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JOnathan L wrote
>>
After all, it's just "knocked" + "up." Where's the dirt ? (Goak.)
<<

"Goak"?

m a m


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