"roundabout"

[Douglas G. Wilson]

On 5/19/2013 11:30 AM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>
> Is the following instance of "roundabout" n., sense A.1.b.,
> "depreciative. A superfluous piece of circular clothing; spec. =
> farthingale n. Obs. rare.", with a single OED quote from a1555?  Or
> does it mean "tush" (a sense I don't see s.v. "roundabout")?
>
> "The day was warm; the man's trousers adhered tightly to him just
> under his roundabout; the temptation to give a slap was more than
> James could resist. He swung his hand in the air and left the print
> of his fingers on the man's posterior."
>
> (I observe in passing that the OED describes "farthingale" as an item
> of women's clothing, not men's.)
--

I think probably "roundabout" = "roundabout jacket", which can be
productively Googled.

-- Doug Wilson

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