To 'droll on (and on)'

Tue Jan 29 17:51:05 UTC 2008

At 11:19 AM -0500 1/29/08, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>Was the speaker thinking of "troll", with the
>image of moving to and fro, strolling, with one's
>tongue?  Unlikely, I suppose, but there are these
>intriguing -- and even more unlikely? -- OED senses for "troll v.":
>
>II. 4.  a. intr. To move nimbly, as the tongue in
>speaking; to wag. Also said of a person. Obs. or arch.
>          b. trans. To move (the tongue) volubly.
>?Obs.  [This is the right sense, but the most recent citation is 1747.]
>†5. fig. trans. To turn over in one's mind; to
>revolve, ponder, contemplate. Obs. rare—1.
>
>Joel

Or less exotically, maybe just "drone on" + "roll on"?

LH

>
>At 1/28/2008 05:36 PM, Rebekah wrote:
>>I just noticed an unfamiliar use of the word "droll" as a verb on
>>Gawker.com(here I expose a truly embarrassing online habit in the
>>interest of
>>linguistic research).
>>
>>"Saw Bill Clinton at 2:30 this afternoon leaving Nobu 57. He shook hands,
>>posed for pictures and kissed babies. He was in good spirits and even
>>listened to this woman *droll on and on* about being from Arkansas."
>>LINK: http://gawker.com/349814/bill-clinton-canvasses-nobu
>>
>>This seems like a straightforward mistake, confusing 'droll on' with 'drone
>>on', but led me to investigate other instances of 'droll' as a verb.
>>The OED provides 'droll on' but with a different meaning, closer to the
>>sense of 'droll' as an adjective:
>>*
>>droll, v.
>>*
>>
>>     *1.* *intr.* To make sport or fun; to jest, joke; to play the buffoon.
>>Const. *with*, *at*, *on*, *upon*.
>>*1654* WHITELOCKE<http://dictionary.oed.com/help/bib/oed2-w2.html#whitelocke>
>>*Jrnl. Swed. Emb.* (1772) I. 130 Whitelocke drolled with them. *1665* EARL
>>OF MARLBOROUGH *Fair Warnings* 19 There was no greater argument of a foolish
>>and inconsiderate person, than profanely to droll at Religion. *a1678* M
>>ARVELL <http://dictionary.oed.com/help/bib/oed2-m2.html#marvell> *Wks.* III.
>>333 (R.) As Killegrew buffons his master, they droll on their God, but a
>>much duller way. *1680* *Vind. Conforming Clergy* (ed. 2) 32 An Author..that
>>drolls with every thing. *1739* W.
>>MELMOTH<http://dictionary.oed.com/help/bib/oed2-m3.html#w-melmoth>
>>*Fitzosb. Lett.* (1763) 227 To drole upon the established religion of a
>>country. *1784*
>>COWPER<http://dictionary.oed.com/help/bib/oed2-c4.html#cowper>
>>*Task* II. 369 He doubtless is in sport, and does but droll. *1894* R. B
>>RIDGES <http://dictionary.oed.com/help/bib/oed2-b3.html#r-bridges> *Feast of
>>Bacchus* v. 1428 To droll on a private person.
>>
>>
>>The OED examples were unfamiliar and struck me as archaic.   But a google
>>search of 'drolled on' (un-tensed 'droll on' didn't return many results)
>>provided some contemporary examples of what (I think) are a number of
>>distinct uses.
>>
>>1)   "Wright's autobiography, *Spilling the Beans*, just hit the
>>shelves<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=480245&in_page_id=1879&in_a_source=&ito=1490>but
>>it's not going to be quite as jolly a tale as the Britishisms she
>>drolled on *Fat Ladies*."
>>LINK: http://jezebel.com/gossip/chick-lit/-297121.php
>>I'm not sure whether 'on' is part of the verb phrase in the above sentence,
>>or part of a prepositional phrase with 'Fat Ladies'. The sense seems close
>>to the OED usage and definitely isn't confused with 'drone on'.
>>
>>2) "In both math and language, two negatives, when combined,
>>make a positive. However," he drolled on, "in math or
>>language two positives never make a negative."
>>LINK:
>>http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/features/hodgepodge/19990410_jokeshow/jokes/0324_3.htm
>>
>>'Droned on' doesn't seem to be the sense here;  could 'drolled on' be
>>intended to mean the continuation of a droll or witty statement?
>>
>>
>>3)  Supposedly from Webster's, via Everything2:
>>
>>*Droll*, v. t.
>>
>>*1.*  To lead or influence by jest or trick; to banter or jest; to
>>cajole.    "Men that will not be reasoned into their senses, may yet be
>>laughed or *drolled* into them."  *L'Estrange.*
>>
>>LINK: http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=droll
>>
>>*
>>*
>>4) 'Drone' mix-ups:  "the evening drolled on"; "the day drolled on"; "the
>>debate drolled on".  Google provided at least several hundred instances of
>>'drolled on' mistaken for 'droned on' (google: "drolled on about", "droll on
>>and on", "the x drolled on").
>>
>>
>>
>>Is anyone on the list familiar with verbal 'droll', especially the
>>construction 'droll on'?   Is this more common among British English
>>speakers?
>>
>>________________
>>
>>Rebekah B.
>>Bryn Mawr College '07
>>rebekah.brita at gmail.com
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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