[Ads-l] -ski, whatevski(s), broski

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Following Ben's lead. In 1887 an anarchist was referred to by the
punning name "Bombski".

Date: May 16, 1887
Newspaper: The Winfield Daily Telegram
Newspaper Location:
Article: A Traitor To His Leader
Author: Winfield, Kansas
Quote Page 2, Column 3
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80851155/bombski-ski-suffix/

[Begin excerpt]
A TRAITOR TO HIS LEADER.

Boss Anarchist: "Hello, Bombski, you look flushed and excited. Some
new effort against the oppressors?"
Anarchist: "I have been down street here helping to put out a fire."
Boss Anarchist (excitedly): "Heavens, have you turned traitor? Are you
too, an enemy of our great movement? Can it be pos--"
Anarchist: "The fire was in a beer saloon."
Boss Anarchist: "Why in thunder didn't you let me know about it in
time to go along? You're a nice sort of friend of the cause, you
are?''
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Mon, Jul 5, 2021 at 11:28 AM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Green's Dictionary of Slang has the following citation under "-ski" ("a sfx
> added to names in humorous imitation of Russian; a general intensifier"):
>
> https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/cvwly3a
> 1901 Salt Lake Herald 5 Aug. 3/4: 'ree lunchovitch and drinksies for all!'
> Captain Fatwad declared.
>
> ...but on closer inspection that should actually be "drinkskies." The
> article and accompanying illustration have some other mock-Russian
> examples, including "I brought a bombski with me but they took it awayski,"
> "Let me get a snapshotski of him," and even a baby greeting the czar with
> "goo-ski."
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80835147/drinkskies/
>
> --bgz
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 5, 2021 at 10:52 AM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > And HDAS has a cite from 1902 with the spelling “buttinsky” (a reference
> > to someone being a member of “the Buttinsky Family”).
> >
> > LH
> >
> > > On Jul 5, 2021, at 10:43 AM, Joe Salmons <
> > 000008f18d0e0c45-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:
> > >
> > > In fact, buttinski may be the oldest really widespread one, judging from
> > NGramViewer … it’s defined in a business article from 1909, link below.
> > Green’s Dictionary of Slang (which has it starting as a campus thing) and
> > looking very productive (darnfoolski, runski, toughsky titsky) in the early
> > 20th c. Learn something every day.
> > > Thanks, everybody!
> > > Joe
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > https://www.google.com/books/edition/Business_Philosopher/HHBMAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22buttinsky%22&pg=PA16&printsec=frontcover
> > >
> > >
> > > From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> > Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> > > Date: Monday, July 5, 2021 at 9:36 AM
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Subject: Re: -ski, whatevski(s), broski
> > > If I may be a buttinsky....
> > > SG
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> > Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > > Sent: Monday, July 5, 2021 10:32 AM
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Subject: Re: -ski, whatevski(s), broski
> > >
> > > A 1978 hit from an SNL episode is the earliest cite in Jon’s HDAS.  I
> > assume that “brewski” was the clear sponsor of both “broski” and “bluntski”
> > on phonological and semantic grounds respectively.
> > >
> > > LH
> > >
> > >> On Jul 5, 2021, at 9:33 AM, Joe Salmons <
> > 000008f18d0e0c45-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Brewski may well be the oldest one of the set, yeah, though I don’t
> > have any evidence on that, but it’s clearly become at least somewhat
> > productive.
> > >>
> > >> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> > Alan Knutson <boris1951 at CHARTER.NET>
> > >> Date: Monday, July 5, 2021 at 8:32 AM
> > >> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> Subject: Re: -ski, whatevski(s), broski
> > >> Considering your location, I would have thought you had heard of a
> > brewski?
> > >>
> > >> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
> > >>
> > >> From: Joe Salmons
> > >> Sent: Monday, July 5, 2021 8:17 AM
> > >> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >> Subject: -ski, whatevski(s), broski
> > >>
> > >> SURELY somebody on this list has written about the -ski derivational
> > suffix. I’ve heard/seen it in the two forms in the subject line – see
> > ‘whatevs’ and ‘bro’ -- and Urban Dictionary points to broader use (“time
> > for a bluntski”, etc.) I’m curious about how productive it is and what the
> > origins might be. Intuitively, I could see some kind of Mock Slavic thing
> > going on, but don’t know how to get evidence for that. Looking for
> > basically anything on this one.
> > >> Thanks,
> > >> Joe
> > >>
> >
>
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org