"swotty nancy boy" translation?
Joy
that he doesn't want "'some swotty little nancy boy for a son
anyway.'" Could some of our British members please translate "swotty"
and "nancy" for me? Of course the context gives a pretty good idea of
what he means, and my dictionary has some words close to those that
helped some, but I'd like a native's perspective. :-)
Joy =)!
Shadow
"Joy" <joyr...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:3e2058cc.01120...@posting.google.com...
Allow me: Swotty = Swatting his arms around like a Type-B Tourette's
Syndrome sufferer and Nancy = Whining like that Nancy Stouffer B**ch.
--
Shadow
When's Book 5 out? See FAQ at:
http://www.geocities.com/hpnewsgroup/faqfdq.htm
Geoff Watson
"Nancy" means girly. A 'Nancy-girl' is a boy who acts like a girl; the
opposite of a 'Tom-boy'.
A 'Swot' is a lot like a 'Nerd'.
Geoff.
Richard Eney
Not a Brit, but I've read a lot of UK books. "Swot" is like "swat"; it's
used metaphorically. A swot is someone who hits ("swots") the books. We
might say a "grind", nerd, or egghead (I know those are all old terms).
A nancy-boy is a boy whose behavior is considered girlish; to someone like
Uncle Vernon, anyone who studies is acting like a girl.
=Tamar
Andy Platt
news:9uk2m1$fe8$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
>
> "Joy" <joyr...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:3e2058cc.01120...@posting.google.com...
> > In Book 4, Uncle Vernon states (in reference to Dudley's bad marks)
> > that he doesn't want "'some swotty little nancy boy for a son
> > anyway.'" Could some of our British members please translate "swotty"
> > and "nancy" for me? Of course the context gives a pretty good idea of
> > what he means, and my dictionary has some words close to those that
> > helped some, but I'd like a native's perspective. :-)
>
> Allow me: Swotty = Swatting his arms around like a Type-B Tourette's
> Syndrome sufferer and Nancy = Whining like that Nancy Stouffer B**ch.
Hey, I'd love to see a full "translation" of the books by you Shadow! It
could throw quite an interesting light on things!
Andy.
--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination.
James J. Dominguez
Joy wrote:
>In Book 4, Uncle Vernon states (in reference to Dudley's bad
>marks) that he doesn't want "'some swotty little nancy boy for a
>son anyway.'" Could some of our British members please
>translate "swotty" and "nancy" for me?
Like most insulting terms, especially British ones, these
terms are hard to define precisely.
"Swotty" means something like "geeky" or "nerdy", but with
more negative connotations. Percy Weasley is quite swotty -
obsessed with rules and regulations, and in school would report any
misdeed by a fellow student to the teachers. You're probably
getting the idea now.
"Nancy boy" is easier. Basically, this is a boy who displays
feminine characteristics, or other features considered to be
feminine or gay by somebody who considers these things to be bad.
A boy who can't (or won't) fight, doesn't play sport, reads books,
cries when he gets hurt, sings in the choir, etc etc etc could be
described as a bit of a nancy boy.
Therefore, a swotty little nancy boy would be a cross between
Percy and Neville. ;)
--
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| James J. Dominguez AKA DexX de...@ihug.com.au ICQ#: 10419916 |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| "Snakes don't have _parts_, but if I had to call it anything, |
| I would say it's his... knee." - Kathy Bates, The Waterboy |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Joy
> Allow me: Swotty = Swatting his arms around like a Type-B Tourette's
> Syndrome sufferer and Nancy = Whining like that Nancy Stouffer B**ch.
Helpful as always, Shadow... :P
Joy
=)!
Shadow
Hey, that's what I'm here for, right?
Shadow
> could throw quite an interesting light on things!
Hey, I have no desire to tarnish the story, but I love playing with people's
heads. Of course, when I do it I make sure that there's someone close by to
call me on the carpet for it, hence the idomatic expression thing. I knew
what they meant, but what fun is there in providing a straight answer?
Oh, and if you're really interested in a different spin on Harry Potter, I'm
working on two fanfics: one takes place in the Wizard world but Harry never
shows up - it's about the MoM and what they do...a sort of X-Files kind of
story and it might wind up as a series - depending on how well I like the
first story. The other is called Harry Potter and the Big Cash Cow.... I
think you can glean from the title that it's a satire. I'll also give you
this spoiler: the DADA teacher is named Stancy Loather and whenever she gets
too close Harry's scar goes "MOOOOOOO!".
John Fisher
"Swot" is an insult used mostly by kids for a kid who
studies too much, thinks studying is important and seems too
clever. To be thought of as a swot is social death.
"Nancy boy" means an effeminate boy, probably gay.
An equivalent insult might be "some fagotty little nerd".
--
John Fisher jo...@epcc.ed.ac.uk jo...@drummond.demon.co.uk
Richard Sliwa
<snip>
> "Nancy boy" is easier. Basically, this is a boy who displays
> feminine characteristics, or other features considered to be
> feminine or gay by somebody who considers these things to be bad.
> A boy who can't (or won't) fight, doesn't play sport, reads books,
> cries when he gets hurt, sings in the choir, etc etc etc could be
> described as a bit of a nancy boy.
>
> Therefore, a swotty little nancy boy would be a cross between
> Percy and Neville. ;)
Sorry, but you're being very unfair to poor Neville there. He's not
particularly well balanced (both physically and psychologically), but no
way on earth would I call him a nancy boy!
If I didn't like him, I might call him a wimp, though (but of course he's
written so that we like him, or at least feel sorry for him, so I
wouldn't). :-)
There aren't any real nancy boys in the HP universe to date, but the
closest would be Dudley's mate (whose name momentarily escapes me), or in
some respects, Dudley himself. Bullying is a typical activity for lots of
nancy boys, over-compensating for their own lack of "fibre".
Philip Lewis
>There aren't any real nancy boys in the HP universe to date, but the
Nancy... though it's probably more vanity:
s
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s
f
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C
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From CoS
"The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly
matched his eyes; "
"Several seats along, Harry saw Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed in robes of
aquamarine."
"Gilderoy Lockhart, however, was immaculate in sweeping robes of
turquoise, his golden hair shining under a perfectly positioned turquoise
hat with gold trimming."
"but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the
world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions -"
"Gilderoy Lockhart, wearing robes of palest mauve today, "
"Harry saw several of the Lockharts in the
pictures dodging out of sight, their hair in rollers."
"The photographs of Lockhart on the walls were all nodding in
agreement as he talked. One of them had forgotten to remove his hair
net."
"Gilderoy Lockhart was walking onto the stage, resplendent in robes
of deep plum"
--
be safe,
flip
^___^
\^.^/
==u==
Jo Lonergan
wrote:
>
>Joy wrote:
>>In Book 4, Uncle Vernon states (in reference to Dudley's bad
>>marks) that he doesn't want "'some swotty little nancy boy for a
>>son anyway.'" Could some of our British members please
>>translate "swotty" and "nancy" for me?
>
> Like most insulting terms, especially British ones, these
>terms are hard to define precisely.
>
> "Swotty" means something like "geeky" or "nerdy", but with
>more negative connotations. Percy Weasley is quite swotty -
>obsessed with rules and regulations, and in school would report any
>misdeed by a fellow student to the teachers. You're probably
>getting the idea now.
>
When I was at school, back in the last century, being a swot had
nothing to do with rules and regulations, it was purely a matter of
working hard. Hermione is a swot. It's negative because it makes the
other pupils look bad by comparison.
--
Jo
gizbon
>In Book 4, Uncle Vernon states (in reference to Dudley's bad marks)
>that he doesn't want "'some swotty little nancy boy for a son
>anyway.'" Could some of our British members please translate "swotty"
>and "nancy" for me?
Time to drag out Cassels Dictionary of Slang again, an excellent read
I'd recommend to anyone who wants to improve their vocabulary ;o)
Swot- [mid 19c+] a hard worker, especially on the eve of a test, hence
swot up. Supposedly derives from Dr William Wallace, an instructor at
the Royal Military College Sandhurst, who's broad Scottish dialect
corrupted the word sweat, ie Work till you Sweat.
Nancy is originally US slang from the late 19c, meaning effeminate or
weak willed, but Nan-Boy is British from late 17c meaning homosexual or
effeminate, and nancy is early 20c British slang for the buttocks.
In context, swotty nancy boy probably equates to a book-worm who is
outside his peer group, a nerd in the American dialect.
--
gizbon
Meljnsn
studies, but he's also a "heartie", in that he's prominent in sports, and
known, if not always appreciated, as a good fellow.
Mel
James J. Dominguez
Jo Lonergan wrote:
>When I was at school, back in the last century, being a swot had
>nothing to do with rules and regulations, it was purely a matter
>of working hard. Hermione is a swot. It's negative because it
>makes the other pupils look bad by comparison.
Oh sure, back then, but the meanings of words change. It is
not hard to see how "hard working" could evolve into "stuck-up
goody two-shoes". :)
Elizabeth Naime
wrote:
>Sorry, but you're being very unfair to poor Neville there. He's not
>particularly well balanced (both physically and psychologically), but no
>way on earth would I call him a nancy boy!
Ahh, but would Snape or Draco call Neville a nancy boy if they didn't
already have several other devastating nasty remarks saved up?
Elspeth, Hufflepuff (dismissed)
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