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19th Century Slang Dictionary


Cabalero Chuck

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Pretty neat! I had to laugh at all of the ones I have heard my family use, not to mention I have used myself a time or two. That whole Appalachian descent, I suppose (Or "I reckon," as my dad would say).

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bodaciously: an exaggeration of "bodily."

1833: It's a mercy that the cowardly varmints hadn't used you up boda- ciously. James Hall,

Legends of the West, p.38

1878: 1 saw a man in Stockton, California, who had been bodaciously chawed up to use his

own language, by a grizzly bear.

J.H. Beadle, Western Wilds, p.118

 

 

 

I laughed when I saw this one. Once upon a time, I was an Army tanker in "B" Company. We were tasked with naming our tanks -- all starting with the letter "B" and painting said name on the bore evacuator (the lumpy lookin' thing) located on the gun tube. My crew selected the name "Bodacious." ^_^ I think one of my crewman had heard the term in a movie (a western, no doubt) in which the term was used to amplify or describe the "female mammory glands." :lol:

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bodaciously: an exaggeration of "bodily."

1833: It's a mercy that the cowardly varmints hadn't used you up boda- ciously. James Hall,

Legends of the West, p.38

1878: 1 saw a man in Stockton, California, who had been bodaciously chawed up to use his

own language, by a grizzly bear.

J.H. Beadle, Western Wilds, p.118

 

 

 

I think one of my crewman had heard the term in a movie (a western, no doubt) in which the term was used to amplify or describe the "female mammory glands." :lol:

 

I'm not sure when you were in, but in the 1982 movie An Officer and a Gentleman Sid Worley (David Keith) said to Zack Mayo (Richard Gere), "Look at them bodacious set of ta-tas" when talking about townie girl Lynette Pomeroy (Lisa Blount). B)

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Anybody that has a problem with "I reckon" needs to look it up.

 

I've been known to say it on occasion!

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I'm not sure when you were in, but in the 1982 movie An Officer and a Gentleman Sid Worley (David Keith) said to Zack Mayo (Richard Gere), "Look at them bodacious set of ta-tas" when talking about townie girl Lynette Pomeroy (Lisa Blount). B)

 

 

Yep, that woulda been it. In uniform from 1982 until 1998 (in one form or another), but the "Bodacious" name incident occurred in 1988 or so. That's prolly where it came from.

 

Since you've amplified this, I'll tell the rest of the story....

 

My gunner was a fine Worchester, Mass fella with a horrendous accent (at least to me :rolleyes: ). He picked the name and said, "It reminds me of a bodacious set of ta-ta's." I looked the word up and found that Webster's says, "unusual; stands out in a crowd." So I insruct him to say that when the Colonel asks (if he does). Well, the paint wasn't even dry yet and who strolls up on the tank line?....yep, the Colonel (actually, LTC, but hey....it's my story :) ). So, he promptly asks my gunner, "What's that mean?" My gunner casts an evil grin my way and replies, "It means unusual....stands out in a crowd.....like a bodacious set of ta-ta's." :lol:

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Good thread. A fair percentage of those words are still being used here in SE OK. Some have different meanings now, for example catawampus now means "out of line, or out of square" usually applied to houses and buildings.

 

I can't remember far enough back to when I didn't use the word "reckon". Just always been part of my vocabulary.

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I hear a tolerable amount of these words pretty regular. When I was a kid (50 years or so ago), even more were in common use. I reckon we were a tad bit behind the times, but I ain't a-fixin to do nary a thang about it. I believe TV has ruined the beauty of regional lingo. Pronunciation list I found interesting, but incomplete. I hate it when a body don't know what bob war is or thinks far wood is a distant forest, not fuel fer the cook stove.

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These are fantastic.

 

My granny told me many times to stop having a "Conniption Fit" when things would not go my way. :wacko:

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I hate it when a body don't know what bob war is or thinks far wood is a distant forest, not fuel fer the cook stove.

 

Do ya check the awl in your car? Do ya rotate the tars on it?

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Man alive, I had a booger of a time cipherin' what some of them writins was ah tryin' ta say 'cause reegardless of how we said 'em, we still wrote the words the same way.

 

I 'member sitchy-ations whar I would come across fellers who figured if you talked a certain way and didn't use propper gramer or couldn't speel gud, you wuz dumb as a ox. I learnt that havin' them athinkin' you wuz ignorant as a hillbilly could work to your advantage, purtickularly in bizness sitchy-ations because thayed let thur gard down. Thayed be purdy shore they wuz fleecing a feller when thayed actually done gone and handed you all thur money. It'd put a grin on a fellers face noing that if they nowed the truth, them critters wood likley have come plum apart.

 

Buck D. Law

Hillbilly to the bone ba bone bone, but I still can't make hide nor hair of what Cheyenne Culpepper says when he's writin' in hillbilly mode. :D

 

 

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On the passenger door of my truck. A couple of words not in common usage. Get quite a few looks... then some double takes. 'Case ya'll can't cipher "old english", it sez, "Reserved for comely serving WENCH!" Name on the back reads "The Black Rose", I was going to use the Scottish "An Ros Dubh", but the Mrs. talked me out of it... said I'd spend way too much time explainin' what it meant. I get asked all the time if I think I'm some sort of "pirate"... I calmly repy, "...why no, I'm a privateer!" Most yahoos don't get the distinction.

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I heard a whole passle of those when I was growing up down yonder in southern Virginia.

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I recently read three bok of excerpts from trial notes, newspapers and interviews of the Earps, Matsersons and D. Holliday. I came across a word that was common in the west that I had neve thought about but used often.

Deadwood - a negative term about a gambling table where you ahve no chance of winning due to a cardsharp/cheat/expert gambler.

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On the passenger door of my truck. A couple of words not in common usage. Get quite a few looks... then some double takes. 'Case ya'll can't cipher "old english", it sez, "Reserved for comely serving WENCH!" Name on the back reads "The Black Rose", I was going to use the Scottish "An Ros Dubh", but the Mrs. talked me out of it... said I'd spend way too much time explainin' what it meant. I get asked all the time if I think I'm some sort of "pirate"... I calmly repy, "...why no, I'm a privateer!" Most yahoos don't get the distinction.

 

Nice looking ride! About 10, 12 years ago I saw one, purple - real, honest to gawd deep rich purple, pink details, and yellow metal trim. "The Purple Rose" she was called. And....sitting in the passenger seat...a white standard poodle.

 

Privateer, eh?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-PQbdmQRwc

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I like Biggest Toad in the Puddle.

 

I think someone got himself a new nickname this year... :rolleyes:

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