Oosik in the news

[Jonathan Lighter]

And let's not forget the OED's "nisket."

JL

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 4:15 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Oosik in the news
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thank you for asking and for the e-mail quote!
>
> I look forward to any further response. In the meantime, I looked a bit =
> for "usiq" and "uusiq," with only limited luck,
>
> One citation is at http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/z/613578/3, and =
> says:
>
> -----
> Walrus usiq are very expensive and much sought after all over the world. =
> you see them all over the place in Anchorage
>
> Here in this arts& crafts showcase are two usiq's. They are on the lower =
> two shelves on the right side.. that lazy S.
>
> those are walrus usiq. (oosick), it is IVORY, it is a "bone" from the =
> Penis of a walrus !!!
> -----
>
> The other citation I found is a vulgar lyric from the movie "On the Ice" =
> (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663660/). The lyrics can be found at =
> http://tosubtitles.com/on-the-ice-2011-english-english/34590 and the =
> relevant part says "... she can ride my usiq..."
>
> There's a vulgarism that you really need to be in the know to get!
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> Seattle, WA
>
> On Nov 14, 2012, at 9:04 PM, Sissy SoFunk <sissy.sofunk at GMAIL.COM> =
> wrote:
>
> > I asked a friend of mine who works in the Eskimo Museum in Churchill,
> > Manitoba about it, and he replied:
> >=20
> >=20
> > "i'll have a look tomorrow at a couple of dictionaries at work.  The =
> walrus
> > cock bone carvings are seen more in Alaska and the Chuckchi than the
> > Canadian Arctic, so my first guess is that oosik is a yupik term as =
> opposed
> > to an inuktitut one - but i'll double check.  That spelling looks to =
> be
> > pretty anglicized and if you have an Inuktitut or Yupik or esqu-aleut
> > dictionary handy you'll probably have more luck looking for a spelling =
> like
> > usiq or uusiq.  I've only encountered walrus penis bone carvings at =
> the
> > museum, never polar bear ones, and am currently doing some research on
> > traditional uses of the polar bear by Inuit and I don't recall seeing
> > anything about carving or scrimshaw done any of the polar bear bones - =
> bear
> > bone is especially hard, it was mostly prized by Inuit for its use in =
> knife
> > edging and arrow and harpoon head pointing, as well as for tipping the
> > points of the kakivak - not so much in art, fetish or amulet making."
> >=20
> > I'll keep you updated when he gets back to me.
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 6:52 PM, Benjamin Barrett =
> <gogaku at ix.netcom.com>wro=3D
> > te:
> >=20
> >>=20
> >>=20
> >> In the Seattle Times today by Erika Bolstad, (
> >> =
> http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019676814_polarbears14.html):
> >>=20
> >> -----
> >> Since polar bears were listed in 2008 as threatened, Americans =
> haven't
> >> been able to import polar bear trophies =3D97 generally a tanned skin =
> and c=3D
> > laws
> >> along with the skull and the penis bone, known scientifically as a
> >> "baculum" and in the indigenous languages of the Arctic as an =
> "oosik."
> >> -----
> >>=20
> >> The earliest citation I find on Google Books is 1966 =
> (http://ow.ly/fiGTc)=3D
> > .
> >> I haven't been thorough, but the citations I saw indicated that =
> "oosik" i=3D
> > s
> >> a walrus penis bone. Also, I don't see which languages that =
> "languages of
> >> the Arctic" refer to.
>
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