Phat

[Wilson Gray]

I'm almost afraid to go over it, again. Don't you recall the big fight
that we had over  this  when I was still a "newk," as we used to say
at the language school.

Anyway, a cousin of mine was visiting from the Bronx. Cuz asked me
whether I was hip to "fat" as a complimentary term for girl. After I
said no, how can this be? cuz went on to explain that it wasn't f-a-t,
but actually p-h-a-t-t, for girls who had not only pussy, but who had
also hips, ass, and thigh. "Thigh" was construed in the singular, as
in the phrase, "puts forth a mean thigh," said of a girl who was
possessed of what my ace-boon of those days used to refer to as "those
mee-tee, mee-tee thighs." I.e., a girl who is phat(t) would be fat by
Eoropean-American standards This was some time during the summer of
1950. That was the only time that I ever heard this usage till neo-rap
and hip-hop became fresh in the '70's or whenever.

As to whether "phat(t)" is initial-slang, further deponent sayeth not.
Been there, done that.

-Wilson

On 2/17/06, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Phat
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Wilson, who was spelling it "phatt" in 1950 ?
>
>   And for everybody else, I've got a couple of "phats" from a century ago used by printers. What was that about ? ("A phat evening" is one collocation.)  The word seems to have vanished from print till 1963, when _Time_ mentioned it as "Negro argot."
>
>   For those who can't wait for HDAS III, "phat" appears to have originated as a simple respelling of "fat," and not as some exotic anatomical acronym.
>
>   JL
>
> Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>   ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: Re: Today's Language Quotation
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Let's see. HDAS has "bust a cap" back to 1863 and, as far as I know,
> it has never been out of fashion. I know a version of "phat," to wit:
> "phatt," from 1950. "Bood/ty" is another hoary old chestnut, as is
> "get all up in that ass."
>
> I wonder how long the new ones will last.
>
> And yes, I agree that the quote raises some of the questions of the
> ages. It's pretty funny, as was your punny intro, Jon.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 2/16/06, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society
> > Poster: Jonathan Lighter
> > Subject: Today's Language Quotation
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Questions that should not go begging :
> >
> > "Why is that one can busta rhyme or busta move anywhere, but you must busta cap in someone's ass?...How many peeps in a posse, how much booty before baby got back, do you have to be all that to get all up in that, and do I need to be dope and phat to be da bomb or can I just be 'stupid' ?"
> >
> > --Christopher Moore, _Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Pal_ (2002; rpt. N.Y.: Harper Perennial, 2003), p. 110.
> >
> >
> >
> >
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