Random observations on oskie

Sun Jan 17 13:15:39 UTC 2010

In high school in the 60's playing football on defense we would hell "oskiewawa"  ~aaskeewwaawaa for an interception.  Our coach was in his 60's back then.  He played college football at Notre Dame.  He might have got the term there.  

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+ 
see truespel.com phonetic spelling

> Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:19:38 -0500
> From: wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
> Subject: Re: Random observations on oskie
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> 
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: Random observations on oskie
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> In thirty-five years at UT, I never encountered this term. I used to read
> the student paper every day, too, looking for weird words.
> 
> Deduce what you will.
> 
> JL
> 
> On Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 9:12 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrot=
> e:
> 
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster: Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject: Random observations on oskie
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >
> > Feel free to use or discard...
> >
> > In light of USC/Tennessee football coaching turnover, "General" Bob
> > Neyland's Seven Maxims briefly came back into the national focus. One of
> > them is "Ball, *oskie*, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang
> > tackle...for this is the winning edge." Apparently, it is a common
> > source of puzzlement.
> >
> > http://bit.ly/8bsR54
> > >
> > > Enough with the middlemen. It's time to take the question to the very
> > > top. Enter John Bunting, a man who has spent his entire life in
> > > football. He coached for three different NFL teams and was a defensive
> > > coach for his entire coaching career before arriving at North
> > > Carolina. This was a man who would know oskie.
> > >
> > > Or maybe not.
> > >
> > > "It's an interception term," he said with a smile. "I don't use it. I
> > > hate it. I didn't invent it and I don't know what it means and I don't
> > > know where it came from. I have been called upon to use it as a
> > > player. If you find an Ohio State player, they might be able to tell
> > > you. It goes all the way back to Woody Hayes."
> > >
> > > Not to quibble, Coach, but it apparently goes back even further than
> > > that. According to http://www.oskie.com (no, seriously, it really does
> > > exist), the term goes all the way back to General Bob Neyland at
> > > Tennessee. In fact, it was one of his seven maxims of football. "Ball,
> > > oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle...for this
> > > is the winning edge," according to Neyland. He was unavailable for
> > > further comment since he is, technically, dead.
> > >
> >
> > One recent youth coaching manual states simply,
> >
> > > Oskie Oskie is word that some coaches and players use to announce that
> > > they have just gotten an interception.
> >
> > Athletic Journal (1950--no issue identified) has a similar description.
> >
> > > It is well to have the man making the interception call "oskie" when
> > > he catches the ball.
> >
> > UD has the same explanation, although it also has an unrelated entry for
> > "Oskie Woskie".
> >
> > But searching GB actually reveals another turn of the century usage--in
> > university and fraternity cheers.
> >
> > (1906) <Note that a number of other chants on that page contain
> > references to graduating class by year, including "nineteen-two" and
> > "nineteen-seven".>
> > http://bit.ly/93cCZq
> > > Oskie! Wow! Wow!
> > > Wiskie! Wee! Wee!
> > > Oli-muck-e-i!
> > > K. U. Medic-ki!
> >
> > http://bit.ly/5mhpO0
> > (1917)
> > > Come back and renew old acquaintances--
> > > Come back and join us with big "Oskie Wow-Wow."
> > > We will guarantee you a lively time.--
> > > Homecoming invitation sent out by University of Oregon.
> >
> > http://bit.ly/8Eflcd
> > (1908)
> > > Then [Kappa=3DDelta] almost raised the roof by the "Oskie-woy-woy" yell
> > > of Illinois.
> >
> > http://bit.ly/79GbCV
> > (1919)
> > > And "Chet" Cleveland tried to give an Oskie-Wow-Wow for Illinois all
> > > alone, and I had to help him out, although I was at the other end of
> > > the room.
> >
> > http://bit.ly/7RrW5n
> > 1919
> > > ...traditions that will make chills play tag up and down a student's
> > > spinal column when he hears an Oregon "Oskie," that will encourage a
> > > seasoned first year man to fight for a green cap which he once
> > > considered unsightly.
> >
> > http://bit.ly/8tXuHJ
> > 1928
> > > You fellows from the Oskie-Wow-Wow and from the hicks and the sticks =
> =97
> > > you fellows from the little towns.
> >
> > http://bit.ly/4Dxg2E
> > 1921
> > > With an Oskie Wow, Wow, Illinois," and many a Rah, Rah, Rah, for
> > > Georgia, V. M. I., Norwich, Michigan, and Massachusetts Aggie, 234
> > > students shouted their farewell to Fort Ethan Allen on July 21.
> >
> > There is a reference to "oskie-wowow" on p. 60 of Newsweek that is only
> > identified as vol. 16, 1940.
> >
> > Another is in 1958 Values in culture and classroom: a study in the
> > sociology of the school, By H. Otto Dahlke (p. 205--snippet only)
> > http://bit.ly/7ISmkh
> > > For the present, therefore, the mass entertainment pattern with all
> > > its implications will remain. Oskie Wow Wow=97 Skinnie Wow Wow Rah, rah=
> ,
> > ...
> >
> > All other hits are on proper names or simply misidentified names (except
> > one early reference that actually reads "oxide" in the text).
> >
> > VS-)
> >
> > PS: US Army Captain Robert Neiland (1892-1962) coached Tennessee from
> > 1926 to 1952 with some interruptions--including during WWII, when he was
> > promoted to Brigadier General before returning to Tennessee. His
> > graduated from West Point in 1916 amd later got an engineering degree
> > from MIT.
> >
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> >
> 
> 
> 
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