Off the ol' hookeroo

[Jonathan Lighter]

I agree.

Nor have I indpeendently observed the attributive use, which was more likely
a stylistic quirk. It certainly was not in general use so far as known
evidence goes.

JL

On Wed, Apr 28, 2010 at 4:48 PM, Mark Mandel <thnidu at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Off the ol' hookeroo
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Notably, "(the ol') switcheroo" is much more specific than "switch".
>
> ISTM that OED is overbroad even with their restrictions. IMO a switcheroo
> i=
> s
> obligatorily "intended to surprise or deceive". And has anyone seen the
> attributive use to mean "reversible or reversed" more recently than their
> only cite for it (1949), which could easily be the advertiser's or
> manufacturer's tag (figurative or literal) rather than derived from actual
> use.
>
> colloq. (chiefly U.S.).
>    =3DSWITCH n. 8a, c; a change of position or an exchange, esp. one inten=
> ded
> to surprise or deceive; a reversal or turn-about; spec. an unexpected
> chang=
> e
> or =E2=80=98twist=E2=80=99 in a story. Also attrib., reversible, reversed.
>
>  8. a. A change from one state or course to another; an alteration of
> position, policy, etc.
>  c. An exchange; spec. a substitution which involves criminal deception.
> colloq. and slang.
>
> 1949 Sun (Baltimore) 22 Sept. 7 (Advt.), Girls' =E2=80=98switcheroo=E2=80=
> =99 jacket. One
> side's red or green corduroy and..the other side's a gay..wool plaid.
>
> m a m
>
> On Wed, Apr 28, 2010 at 1:49 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> > Well, a phone can be (or can be ringing) off the hook, but not off
> > the ol' hookeroo.  ;-)
> >
> > Seriously, or more seriously, it's interesting that none of the OED's
> > examples of the "factitious slang suffix", _boozeroo_, _brusheroo_ [=3D
> > brush off], or _flopperoo_, are still extant in the US (as far as I
> > know, nor is _jerkeroo_ (the one cite at the entry, from a Guardian
> > piece in 1964), while "(the ol') switcheroo", as mentioned in Lisa
> > Galvin's original query, is.  Presumably the productivity of -eroo
> > has essentially waned and thus the attested forms seem like dated
> > (1940's) slang, or at least so the links from the OED -eroo entry
> > would suggest.
> >
> > L
>
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