bangomen

[Jonathan Lighter]

A good guess, Amy. If it were authentic pdigin, I think it would show up
elsewhere.

Joel's "pangomen" looked promising, but it led to dead end. Led _me_,
anyway.

JL

On Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 12:22 PM, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM>
> Subject:      bangomen
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> bangomen seems to me to be a parallel construction to "thunder-junk",
> so maybe it's also faux Oriental pidgin for soldiers (men who make
> bangs).
>
> ---Amy West
>
> >Date:    Sun, 5 Jul 2009 17:48:41 -0400
> >From:    Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> >Subject: bangomen
> >
> >In the words of Ambose Bierce:
> >
> >             "Ours is a Christian army"; so he said
> >             A regiment of bangomen who led.
> >             "And ours a Christian navy," added he
> >             Who sailed a thunder-junk upon the sea.
> >
> >A "thunder-junk" is (faux?) Oriental pidgin for "warship," so presumably
> the
> >"bangomen" have something to do with the Far East. The Philippines?
> >
> >Neither OED or Google Books are any help.
> >
> >WTH?
> >
> >JL
>
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