Yet one more case of "bitching"

[Jonathan Lighter]

HDAS tells more about _bitch_ and _bitching_ than this thread would
indicate.

JL

On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 3:01 AM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Yet one more case of "bitching"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This may be a one-off case... Since the poet felt obligated to explain
> the usage, it may well be that it was peculiar to the particular group
> that he belonged to.
>
> http://goo.gl/5ctr1
> Poems, humorous and sentimental. By William Finlay. Paisley: 1846
> Clippings and Pairings. p. 137
> > O For a spark of Milton's Are,
> > One chord of Poet Burns's lyre ;
> > Or, would Cervantes, princely wag,
> > Spare of his mantle but one rag,
> > That I might paint with master hand,
> > In colours that the test would stand,
> > With pathos strong and truly touching,
> > The noblest specimen of bitching,*
> > That e'er took place since mother Eve
> > Did with an apple man deceive.
> > ...
>
> Below, there is a footnote.
>
> > * Bitching—a cant term, denoting a species of low buffoonery, much
> > admired and practised in some of our Paisley Clubs.
>
> VS-)
>
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