"Yay long"

Sun Sep 29 05:09:48 UTC 2013

Here is a second article by William Morris. OCR errors are present.

Date: August 7, 1964
Newspaper: Omaha World Herald
Column Name: Word, Wit and Wisdom
Article Title: 'Yea Tall' Not New at All to Scotch-Welsh Descendant
Author: William Morris
Page 12
Newspaper Location: Omaha, Nebraska

[Begin excerpt]
Here is still another theory of the origin of the expression "yay" or
"yea" in such phrases as "yay big" and "yea tall." When writing about
it a few weeks ago I noted that I had heard it first only about 10
years ago and then in the jargon of two dissimilar groups—scientists
and teenagers.

Now Anna T. Spohn of Pittsburgh writes: "Recently you restored to me a
term I'd forgotten which originally came more than a half-century ago
from my Scotch-Welsh grandfather! It is "yea-long" as a measurement of
an indefinite amount, as compared to a yard. But you said it was from
current slanguage. Well, we used it for many years but after Granddad
moved on, it disappeared from the family speech. I'm so glad to have
it back, even if the kids do think it's modern today."
[End excerpt]

Spohn says nothing about the use of hands

On Sat, Sep 28, 2013 at 9:57 PM, Jim Parish <jparish at siue.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jim Parish <jparish at SIUE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Yay long"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Joel S. Berson wrote:
>> Did Jim Parish or his communicant see "yay" in print, or is it a
>> rendering of something merely spoken?
>>
>> I, like a couple of others, would have spelled it "yea".
>
> I don't recall whether I've ever seen it in print, unless perhaps in a
> letter from my brother; but "yay" has always been the spelling I've
> assigned to it. More, I can see someone reading "yay" and pronouncing it
> /jai/, as my friend did; I can't see that with the spelling "yea". I'll
> check with both of them and report back.
>
> Jim Parish
>
>
>>
>> How about from "yea, adv.", "3. Used to introduce a statement,
>> phrase, or word, stronger or more emphatic than that immediately
>> preceding: = 'indeed'; 'and more': = yes adv. 4"?  In the example of
>> "yay long", an adverb preceding an adjective and intensifying it?
>>
>> Joel
>>
>> At 9/28/2013 08:19 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>> I too instinctively spell it "yea."
>>>
>>> So what?
>>>
>>> If it's from OE "yea," why did it take a thousand years to appear in print?
>>>
>>> JL
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Sep 28, 2013 at 7:23 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
>>>
>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>> -----------------------
>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>>>> Subject:      Re: "Yay long"
>>>>
>>>>
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> On Sep 28, 2013, at 7:09 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yea) traces this back to OE,
>>>> then Proto-Germanic and PIE, undifferentiated from "yea" meaning yes.
>>>>> The OED speculates that "yay" comes from "yea."
>>>>>
>>>>> Benjamin Barrett
>>>>> Seattle, WA
>>>> Now that you mention it, I've always spelled the adverb (or visualized it
>>>> spelled) "yea", not "yay".  Although I suppose if it's a very big fish it
>>>> could be both.
>>>>
>>>> LH
>>>>> Learn Ainu! https://sites.google.com/site/aynuitak1/videos
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sep 28, 2013, at 2:37 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> Bugs Bunny used it. He's neither black nor human. I believe the phrase
>>>> was
>>>>>> "Oh, about yay by yay," with appropriate gestures.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't know the the title or the date of the cartoon, but it was
>>>> probably
>>>>>> in the early '50s.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To judge from GB and NewspaperArchive.com, it seems to be very rare in
>>>>>> print.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> JL
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sat, Sep 28, 2013 at 3:06 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu
>>>>> wrot=
>>>>>> e:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>>>>> -----------------------
>>>>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>>>> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>>>>>>> Subject:      Re: "Yay long"
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
>>>>>> ------
>>>>>>> On Sep 28, 2013, at 12:57 PM, W Brewer wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> My Chapman's 1986 calls it "A sort of demonstrative adverb used with
>>>>>>>> adjectives of size, height, extent, etc. and often accompanied by a
>>>> han=
>>>>>> d
>>>>>>>> gesture indicating size". 1950s & esp black. "To this extent; this;
>>>> so"=
>>>>>> .
>>>>>>>> Spells it <yea> (YAY).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In the old days, Charles Fillmore used to point out that "yay" is the
>>>> one
>>>>>>> word that can't be sensibly uttered over the phone. (Other
>>>> demonstratives
>>>>>>> have anaphoric uses, but "yay" doesn't, in contexts like "The fish I
>>>> caug=
>>>>>> ht
>>>>>>> was {this/that/yay} big.  And you could even say "The agreement is this
>>>>>>> close to being signed" without prior mention of what "this" is, but not
>>>>>>> "The agreement is yay close to being signed" without my being able to
>>>> see
>>>>>>> you holding your fingers apart=E5=8E=83ay much.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Of course that was before iChat, Skype, and other picture phone
>>>>>>> conversations.
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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