wolfing/woofing (was Just wondering)

[George Thompson]

It can be used to back away from a threat, while things are still at
the wolfing stage and there's still time to escape and yet maintain a
semblance of one's cool:

Isn't this usually "woofing" -- that's what Zora Neal Hurston has, anyway.  Is there such a thing as an "intrusive L"?

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

----- Original Message -----
From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
Date: Friday, February 29, 2008 1:48 pm
Subject: Re: Just wondering
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU


> For me, "That's your ass!" is a threat and a fairly serious one, at that.
>
> "Say what, muthafucka?! Aww, shit! Thash yo' ass, now, nigga!"
>
> Bystanders: "Awww, shit! Iss on, now! Somebody call de amba-lance 'fo'
> iss too late!"
>
> But, "Your ass" is usually used jokingly among friends, as when a
> person is joned with and has no comeback:
>
> A. "Man, y'all shoulda seen dat foxy thang dat I was brangin' P on,
> las' night!"
>
> B. "Y'all, I done seen de bitch dis nigga tawm 'bout an' she so ugly
> dat, when she look in da mirror, da mirra turn t' stone!"
>
> A. "Aw, yo' ass, muthafucka!"
>
> It can be used to back away from a threat, while things are still at
> the wolfing stage and there's still time to escape and yet maintain a
> semblance of one's cool:
>
> A. ""Fuck wit' me, nigga, an' it ain't gon' be but two blows thrown:
> me hittin' you an' you hittin' de flo'! You gon' git cho hayid shook,
> yo' money took, an' yo' name put inta de undataka's book!"
>
> B., turning away, mutters loudly: "Aw, yo' ass, muthafucka!"
>
> Bystanders, to B: "Damn, man! You stan' fo' dat, you stoop fo' dis!"
>
> B., walking away: "Fuck all (a) y'all!"
>
> And it can also be used as merely a strong negative:
>
> A. "Say, man, why don't you run up de street an' git me a forty?"
>
> B. Yo' ass, muthafucka.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 2/29/08, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> >  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >  Poster:       Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
> >  Subject:      Re: Just wondering
> >  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >  Wilson, that's your ass!
> >
> >  "That's your ass," shortened to "your ass,"  is not the equivalent
> to
> >  "up yours" in my standard vernacular."Up yours" is a run-of-the mill
> >  insult, comeback, etc.. (much like "fuck you"). "(That's) your ass"
> >  is an indication that the speaker had lied, exaggerated, or perhaps
> >  behaved (usually verbally) in some inappropriate or undesirable way
> >  or has revealed something shocking or surprising, which could not
> >  possibly evoke an "Up yours."
> >
> >  dInIs
> >
> >
> >  >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >  >-----------------------
> >  >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >  >Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >  >Subject:      Just wondering
> >  >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >  >
> >  >Has anyone else besides me noticed that whites say, "Up yours!",
> >  >whereas blacks say "Your ass!" (I'm assuming that "Up yours!" is also
> >  >a clip of "[Fuck you] up your ass!")
> >  >
> >  >-Wilson
> >  >--
> >  >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange
> complaint to
> >  >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >  >-----
> >  >                                               -Sam'l Clemens
> >  >
> >  >------------------------------------------------------------
> >  >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> >
> >  --
> >  Dennis R. Preston
> >  University Distinguished Professor
> >  Department of English
> >  Morrill Hall 15-C
> >  Michigan State University
> >  East Lansing, MI 48864 USA
> >
> >  ------------------------------------------------------------
> >  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -----
>                                               -Sam'l Clemens
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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