"Jimbo"; was: Yumbo

[Jonathan Lighter]

I have no ancient periodical access at the moment.  When is "Jimbo" first attested as a nickname?  (There's one in a 1950 movie I can think of.)

  JL

Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: Re: "Jimbo"; was: Yumbo
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Well, there was the late Sen. Theodore Bilbo of Miss'ssippi. And there
was the case of the guy named "James" who killed his erstwhile best
buddy because, as he explained it, "I never liked being called
'Jimbo.' '

-Wilson



On 8/5/07, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: "Douglas G. Wilson"
> Subject: Re: "Jimbo"; was: Yumbo
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >I thought "Jimbo" derives from "Jim boy."
>
> If anybody knows one way or the other, it ain't me.
>
> But regardless of whether this is true or not, I think the "-m" just
> somehow calls for a "-bo".
>
> You'll encounter Jimbo and Tombo and Sambo (which is sometimes a
> special case, and possibly was a special case originally).
>
> You won't encounter (at least not very often) Johnbo, Joebo, Billbo
> (outside Tolkien), Jerrybo, Dougbo, etc.
>
> Maybe "Jimbo" and "yumbo" have "Jumbo" or "Sambo" or something as a model?
>
> -- Doug Wilson
>
>
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-----
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