bangomen
Jonathan Lighter
wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Mon Jul 6 16:38:09 UTC 2009
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
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
More information about the Ads-l
mailing list