precocious = 'mischievous'?

[Jonathan Lighter]

As a stripling, I used to think this word, as applied to children, meant
"mischievous."  My impression has been that other people think so too.

At last, material evidence:

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/barbara-billingsley-beaver-cleavers-tv-mom-dies/49082?nc

"Even decades after the show ended, Barbara Billingsley expressed surprise
at the lasting affection people had for 'Leave it to Beaver' and her role as
the warm, supportive mother of a pair of precocious boys."

Those of us who remember the show will recall (I hope) that neither Wally
nor the Beav was "precocious." In fact, part of their appeal was that they
were so "average" (in a TV way, of course).  They certainly weren't
especially mature, clever, popular, successful, or the like.  Beaver at
least did get into mischief, however, because otherwise there'd have been no
show.  Wally was more reserved.

(A second possibility is that "precocious" is now just a pop-journalism
epithet of choice, as I have theorized of "tousled." A third possibility is
that the reporter has never heard of the show and is guessing wildly.)

Eddie Haskell - now *he* was precocious.


JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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