[Ads-l] swabbie, swabbo

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Swabbie" is still overlooked by OED. It was in print frequently during and
after World War II.

Earliest I've seen:

1916 _Duluth News Tribune_ (Mag.) 3: Three cheers, you old swabbies!

Merchant, not naval, sailors.

The 1911 occurrence, above, of "Swabbie, the scrubwoman" may simply reflect
the surname  "Swabbie/ Swabby."

JL

On Sat, Sep 13, 2014 at 8:03 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: swabbie, swabbo
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I've never heard of the "swab-o sign."
>
> As for "swabbo," cf. "cheapie" and "cheapo."
>
> But it isn't very common: maybe more like a recurring nonce term among
> people who are tired of saying "swabbie."
>
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Sep 13, 2014 at 2:48 AM, Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at nb.net> wrote:
>
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: swabbie, swabbo
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > On 9/12/2014 2:32 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      swabbie, swabbo
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > I "swabbie"
> > >
> > > Not in OED, though HDAS files have loads of cites from WW2 on.
> > >
> > > It means a sailor, esp. a deckhand. A swabber of decks.
> > >
> > > Here's an interesting adumbration:
> > >
> > > 1911 Arthur Train, in _Evening Star_ (Wash., D.C.) (Apr. 11) (Sunday
> > Mag.)
> > > 16: Why, it's old Swabbie the scrubwoman! Hello, Swabbie, old girl!
> > >
> > > Train was a popular novelist of the day, and his story ("Bat") appeared
> > in
> > > several papers.
> > >
> > > II  "swabbo"
> > >
> > > Also not in OED. Occasionally a synonym for the above (as in Tom
> Wolfe),
> > > but in older naval usage a zero or, as below, a complete miss on a
> target
> > > range.
> > >
> > > 1909 _Boston Journal_ (July 30) 6:The scorers were all men of the
> United
> > > States Marine Corps, and when a shooter fired at a target and got a
> miss,
> > > and the red flag was waved to denote the fact, the scorer called out in
> > the
> > > language of the service: "A swabbo for -------."  Much merriment
> ensued,
> > > and the [Spanish-American War veterans] now have a new word added to
> > their
> > > vocabulary.
> > --
> >
> > This "swabbo" is new to me AFAIK.
> >
> > Cf. "swab-O sign": I understand this to refer to an "OK"/"good" gesture
> > with the index finger and the thumb forming a circle, but I can't
> > remember where I got this idea.
> >
> > Quick Google shows me three instances of this term referring to some
> > kind of gesture, all three compatible with a hand gesture with the sense
> > "OK", all in fictional works by Poul Anderson. Since I spent a portion
> > of my youth reading material by this author, it might could be that I
> > got it from him.
> >
> > Maybe the shape of the sign suggests "zero" ("O").
> >
> > -- Doug Wilson
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
>
>
>
> --
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