anise

[Laurence Horn]

At 4:55 PM -0400 8/20/08, Doug Harris wrote:
>I heard of this supposedly-young Shithead from my wife, who supposedly
>heard it from someone who 'knew' the kid. If, of course, there is such
>an unfortunately-named individual.
>I also remember a doctor, then young and never particularly bright, who
>told me of young females being named Female' after the name tags on
>their wrists.
>I'd never heard of Nosmo King until you mentioned him. I'd feel even
>more sorry for his sister, given the sexual identity issues she could
>be struggling with what with named Ima,

There was a real Ima Hogg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg),
but AFAIK no real Ima King.  Or Ura Hogg, as is sometimes claimed.

As for Nosmo King /'naz mo kIN/, though, there was a fairly reputable
organic New York (more specifically, Greenwich Village) restaurant of
that name in the '90s, although self-consciously chosen.  Cf e.g.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n7_v26/ai_11852622.  I
don't if it's still going.

>  or was it Imtha? (It wouldn't
>surprise me in the least if there _were_ such a person... especially
>since I've personally known a Candy Barr and a Carol Christmas. And
>one Michael Hunt, who _never_ used the short form of his first name.
>The bigger joke was that his brother was nicknamed York -- but not to
>his face.
>dh
>
>
>Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: anise
>---
>
>Accounts of the unfortunate naming of young Shithead abound in (and from)
>countless locales (all of them also "absolutely true")--along with the
>naming of the twin girls Lemonjello [l@ 'man j@ lo] and Orangejello, and the
>lad Nosmo King (from a sign glimpsed in the hospital maternity ward). The
>jokes often have a racist component--perhaps an unintended tribute the
>greater freedom in African American naming practices.
>
>--Charlie
>_____________________________________________________________
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org