[Ads-l] "fist-stamping"

[Mark Mandel]

Yes, "brought his hard fist stamping down" is as clearly related to the
Huey Long example as "shook his fist, stamping his foot on the ground" is
not. An interesting but on retrospect unsurprising extension of a sense
normally reserved for feet and inanimate objects, like rubber stamps.

MAM


On Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 2:39 PM Andy Bach <afbach at gmail.com> wrote:

> In J. Lepore's "These Truths", (p461 Norton paperback)
> "Wild-eyed, fist-stamping Louisiana senator Huey Long rallied his
> followers by radio, too."
>
> I could find no instances of the hyphenated version, a few like "shook his
> fist, stamping his foot on the ground" and one story in Harper's Magazine
> vol 116, "Versus the Same" by Margaret Sutton Briscoe with:
> "No good!" said my father. He spoke with is teeth set, and brought his
> hard fist stamping down on the breakfast table, ...
>
> There's also the good luck/white horse "stamp" (North Carolina and
> elsewhere folklore) where you put spit (licking one or two fingers right
> hand fingers) onto the middle of palm of your left hand and stamp that
> with.the base of your right fist when ever you see a white horse to bring
> you good luck. (paraphrase - The Frank C. Brown Collection of NC folklore,
> vol VII)
>
> So, maybe that's a fist-stamp, akin to the 3 count timing gesture for the
> beginning of rock, paper, scissors.  Just never seen it before. I don't
> doubt professor Lepore knows what she meant by that.
>
> --
>
> a
>
> Andy Bach,
> afbach at gmail.com
> 608 658-1890 cell
> 608 261-5738 wk
>

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