[Ads-l] bawdy = 'rowdily humorous; slapstick'

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Thu Jan 21 12:54:03 UTC 2021


Wikipedia considers the turgid English song, "To Anacreon in Heav'n"
(ca.1770), to be "bawdy":

"The song, through its bawdy lyrics, gained popularity in London and
elsewhere beyond the Anacreontic Society."

The lyrics irreverently and humorously imagine the enthusiasm of the gods
to desert Olympus and join the harmonious singers of the Anacreontic
Society, against the wishes of Zeus.

(N.b., a Brit at Quora.com assured followers that the U.S. national anthem
was based on a "pornographic song," but nothing could be less pornographic
than a bunch of drunks trying to sing these lyrics to the same melody as
the "Star-Spangled Banner.")

JL



On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 7:51 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: bawdy = 'rowdily humorous; slapstick'
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Right. But that's the less bawdy version....
>
> JL
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 7:41 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: bawdy = 'rowdily humorous; slapstick'
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > On Jan 18, 2014, at 7:33 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >
> > > Mea culpa. The name of Synge's play is of  course "The Tinker's
> Wedding."
> > >
> > > "The Jolly Tinker" is the name of a bawdy song.
> > >
> > > JL
> >
> > Just an innocent little ditty about a handsome young tinker who the
> missus
> > brings up to her feather bed with her to work out the kinks in
> her...frying
> > pans (for a nominal fee).
> >
> > LH
> > >
> > >
> > > On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 7:29 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: bawdy = 'rowdily humorous; slapstick'
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>
> > >> On Jan 18, 2014, at 7:20 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> 1947 David H. Grene in _PMLA_  LXII 826: Mary Byrne [in Synge's "The
> > >> Jolly
> > >>> Tinker"] sings her bawdy song, "The Night before Larry was
> Stretched."
> > >>>
> > >>> Grene was a leading scholar of Irish literature.
> > >>>
> > >>> The well-known "Night before Larry was Stretched" is rowdy, humorous,
> > >>> slapstick, irreverent, even grotesque.
> > >>>
> > >>> But not "bawdy."
> > >>>
> > >>> JL
> > >>
> > >> Yep, it sure doesn't seem bawdy to me.  Nor too cheerful, even if poor
> > >> Larry dies with his face to the city (Dublin).  But then I'm probably
> > not
> > >> an objective observer.
> > >>
> > >> LH
> > >>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> On Sat, Dec 8, 2012 at 7:43 AM, Jonathan Lighter <
> > wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> > >>> wrote:
> > >>>
> > >>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >>>> -----------------------
> > >>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >>>> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > >>>> Subject:      Re: bawdy = 'rowdily humorous; slapstick'
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>>>
> > >>>> The idiotic Australian DJs' call to the hospital containing the
> > Duchess
> > >> of
> > >>>> Cambridge is described by CNN as "a bawdy prank."
> > >>>>
> > >>>> JL
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>> On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 10:02 AM, Tom Zurinskas <
> truespel at hotmail.com
> > >>>>> wrote:
> > >>>>
> > >>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >>>>> -----------------------
> > >>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >>>>> Poster:       Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
> > >>>>> Subject:      Re: bawdy = 'rowdily humorous; slapstick'
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> To be "bawdy" you need to be a little bit "naughty" or risque.
> > >>>>> As an awe-dropper would say it, "To be body you need to be a little
> > bit
> > >>>>> knotty."
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+
> > >>>>> see truespel.com phonetic spelling
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:47:08 -0400
> > >>>>>> From: wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
> > >>>>>> Subject: bawdy = 'rowdily humorous; slapstick'
> > >>>>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >>>>> -----------------------
> > >>>>>> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >>>>>> Poster: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > >>>>>> Subject: bawdy = 'rowdily humorous; slapstick'
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> Today at
> > http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=133129&messages=7
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> "I heard John Roberts & Tony Barrand sing a bawdy song about a
> > rather
> > >>>>>> spirited dinner party."
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> None of the lyrics of the song are in the least bit "bawdy." I've
> > >>>>>> encountered this usage before at this site.
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> JL
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> --
> > >>>>>> "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
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>> --
> > >>>> "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
> > >>>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> --
> > >>> "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
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > "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
> >
>
>
>
> --
> "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
>


-- 
"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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list