coulee/cooley... R and L !!!

[Mike Cleven]

janilta wrote:
>
> Hello again, Mike,
>
> Yes here also 'to run' may have both meanings in English whereas in
> French 'couler' and 'courir' are seen completely different.
> But this does not resolve our riddle : why 'cooley' then ? In fact, if
> we stick to 'cooley' with a 'standard' 'ey' sound (that is, distinct
> from 'ee' sound), then it is logical in French as it is very close to
> 'courez' (run !) and this is apparently Gibbs' opinion too (thus
> 'couri'-like is not relevant here). But another point is why the
> imperative form has been chosen here ?

French trading argot, basic answer.  Same as mahsh (from marcher); no
conjugation necessary.

I'm pretty sure the 'ey' is the 'ee' sound; that's a standard English
spelling for that sound; if it was 'ei'/'ay' then it would have been
spelled coolay.  One thing is the accent is - I think - on the first
syllable, unlike the second of the French imperative.  Maybe there is a
different mode of origin, though.....