Frail
uraniumc...@yahoo.com
to mean 'a woman' last night, within minutes of each other, in two
different contexts:
In the Perry Mason story "The Case of the Counterfeit Eye"
and in the movie 'Sullivan's Travels".
The word was spoken by Veronica Lake, describing herself. The line went
somwething like "We would not want people to think I'm your frail".
The funny thing was I cannot find any reference to this in the
dictionaries I have available to me right now.
Apteryx
news:1146183786.5...@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
I only know it from the latter - where it is:
"Sullivan: Why don't you go back with the car? You look about as much like a
boy as Mae West.
The Girl: All right, they'll think I'm your frail." -
http://www.filmsite.org/sull2.html
My "Oxford English Reference Dictionary (2nd ed) notes it as "noun US slang.
a woman"
--
Apteryx
uraniumc...@yahoo.com
Well, I had the quote backwards, but I got the sense right. I have
NEVER heard that term before that I know of. Isn't that amazing? And
especially to see it twice on the same night, within minutes of each
other?
Lars Eighner
talented Apteryx broadcast on alt.usage.english:
I only know it from "The Birth of the Blues," which was originally from
George White's Scandals of 1926 and has been covered by many artists since.
--
Lars Eighner use...@larseighner.com http://www.larseighner.com/
War on Terrorism: History a Mystery
"He's busy making history, but doesn't look back at his own, or the
world's.... Bush would rather look forward than backward." --_Newsweek_
CDB
I thought I'd found it in a Kipling poem:
The Ballad of the King's Jest
By Rudyard Kipling
Born 1865
When spring-time flushes the desert grass,
Our kafilas wind through the Khyber Pass.
Lean are the camels but fat the frails,
Light are the purses but heavy the bales,
As the snowbound trade of the North comes down
To the market-square of Peshawur town. [...]
But they turn out to be baskets for carrying dried fruit. A parallel
to "baggage"? Another site claims prostitutes in the Old West were
referred to as "fallen frails", which offers as another possibility a
semantic connection to the <scare>weaker sex<quotes>. In either case,
I suppose later use could at least have begun as ironic reference,
passing into common usage in the mouths of those who had only heard
modern examples.
Robert Lieblich
>
> Amazingly, for the first time in my life I came across the word 'frail'
> to mean 'a woman' last night, within minutes of each other, in two
> different contexts:
>
> In the Perry Mason story "The Case of the Counterfeit Eye"
>
>
> and in the movie 'Sullivan's Travels".
>
>
> The word was spoken by Veronica Lake, describing herself. The line went
> somwething like "We would not want people to think I'm your frail".
See also the lyrics to "The Birth of the Blues": "And from a jail came
the wail of a downhearted frail."
<http://www.digitaltimes.com/karaoke/singers/brthofblues.html>.
>
> The funny thing was I cannot find any reference to this in the
> dictionaries I have available to me right now.
There's a bit on info at <http://nfo.net/usa/slang.html> and
<http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=frail>. The latter
quotes the lyrics of "Minnie the Moocher." Perhaps one of our demon
researchers can trace it further.
--
Bob Lieblich
Vigorous, TYVM
tinwhistler
> Amazingly, for the first time in my life I came across the word 'frail'
> to mean 'a woman' last night, within minutes of each other, in two
> different contexts:
The experience (of learning something for the first time, and then
suddenly encountering this something repeatedly in a short time span)
seems to be very common, so much so that some think there should be a
word for it. My nominee is "epiphanitis" (not just an epiphany, but an
onslaught of such).
Tony Cooper
Pick up Damon Runyon for your next read.
--
Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL
Marius Hancu
A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang
http://www.hotweird.com/crow/slang.html
frail - woman
Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=frail
(3rd definition)
1930s Slang
http://www.hardtimesfest.rockinrosco.com/slang.htm
Babe, broad, dame, doll, frail, twist, muffin -- Woman
Marius Hancu
tinwhistler
>
> My "Oxford English Reference Dictionary (2nd ed) notes it as "noun US slang.
> a woman"
Mine does also, with a first cite from 1908. This 1945 cite intrigued
me:
1945 P. Cheyney I'll Say she Does v. 141 She's a swell dish-a lovely
piece of frail.
An intended pun, I suppose, although the slang expression "piece of
tail" has an earliest cite in OED2 of 1950, later than Cheyney's phrase.
Blue Hornet
Not a bad word. How about an epifanny? When you find yourself up to
your ass in new encounters.
tinwhistler
OED2's entry for the slang sense of "fanny" has a pondian division, the
ass sense being US and UKers having a female genitalia sense for that
word. The UK sense would make for an un-PC female-only point of
reference. So, as epi-funny as epifanny is, it's not without yogurt as
a nominee.
Tony Cooper
wrote:
Just might be taken a bit differently in the UK.
Steve Hayes
>The word was spoken by Veronica Lake, describing herself. The line went
>somwething like "We would not want people to think I'm your frail".
>
>The funny thing was I cannot find any reference to this in the
>dictionaries I have available to me right now.
LOL
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Steve Hayes
wrote:
>> Not a bad word. How about an epifanny? When you find yourself up to
>> your ass in new encounters.
>
>OED2's entry for the slang sense of "fanny" has a pondian division, the
>ass sense being US and UKers having a female genitalia sense for that
>word. The UK sense would make for an un-PC female-only point of
>reference. So, as epi-funny as epifanny is, it's not without yogurt as
>a nominee.
Not to a mention that there is a pondian variant on ass.
The epifanny would be the point directly above the donkey in the fanny.
A burro burrow, perhaps?
LaReina del Perros
<ozzie...@post.harvard.edu> wrote:
A good start, but, unfortunately, the "-itis" suffix customarily
refers to an inflammation. Not quite what you'd mean here. How about
"epiphanosis," as "-osis" merely means "condition."
uraniumc...@yahoo.com
It's surprisingly not in Webster 2nd New International (at least not in
the main text; I did not check the addenda).
uraniumc...@yahoo.com
Steve Hayes wrote:
> On 27 Apr 2006 17:23:06 -0700, uraniumc...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> >The word was spoken by Veronica Lake, describing herself. The line went
> >somwething like "We would not want people to think I'm your frail".
> >
> >The funny thing was I cannot find any reference to this in the
> >dictionaries I have available to me right now.
>
> LOL
>
Why the LOL?
Gerry
At last! I gain understanding of a lyric in the song _The Birth of the
Blues_:
And from a jail
Came the wail
Of a downhearted frail
And they made that
A part of the blues
Gerry
tinwhistler
> On 27 Apr 2006 19:01:15 -0700, "tinwhistler"
> >onslaught of such).
>
> A good start, but, unfortunately, the "-itis" suffix customarily
> refers to an inflammation. Not quite what you'd mean here. How about
> "epiphanosis," as "-osis" merely means "condition."
"-osis" is far superior, technically, than "itis" in this context.
However, doesn't epiphanitis sort of resonate with elephantitis and
therefore have a better chance of catching on? OTOH, shouldn't we
desire a higher level of lexicon and therefore pump for elephantosis?
Steve Hayes
The typical frail female.
Little
Old
Lady
LaReina del Perros
<ozzie...@post.harvard.edu> wrote:
Are you, perhaps, thinking of elephantiasis?
The "-iasis" suffix, indicating a process, is probably more apt than
either "-itis" or "-osis."
Default User
> <uraniumc...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1146183786.5...@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> > Amazingly, for the first time in my life I came across the word
> > 'frail' to mean 'a woman' last night
> I only know it from the latter - where it is:
> "Sullivan: Why don't you go back with the car? You look about as much
> like a boy as Mae West. The Girl: All right, they'll think I'm your
> frail." - http://www.filmsite.org/sull2.html
>
> My "Oxford English Reference Dictionary (2nd ed) notes it as "noun US
> slang. a woman"
I ran across this usage of "frail" in one of the stories from science
fiction writer Larry Niven. It was in one of the "Known Space" series,
and he refered to a "Jinxian frail". In these stories, Jinx is a very
high-gravity world, so said "frail" would be a squat and powerful
individual to most human males. I'm sure he used the term for humorous
effect in this case.
Brian
--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)
Robert Lieblich
>
> On 28 Apr 2006 07:00:18 -0700, uraniumc...@yahoo.com wrote:
> >
> >Steve Hayes wrote:
> >> On 27 Apr 2006 17:23:06 -0700, uraniumc...@yahoo.com wrote:
> >>
> >> >The word was spoken by Veronica Lake, describing herself. The line went
> >> >somwething like "We would not want people to think I'm your frail".
> >> >
> >> >The funny thing was I cannot find any reference to this in the
> >> >dictionaries I have available to me right now.
> >>
> >> LOL
> >>
> >Why the LOL?
>
> The typical frail female.
>
> Little
> Old
> Lady
And here I thought he was reacting to Steve's pointing out of a funny
thing.
I guess I have another thing coming.
--
Bob Lieblich
Watch out for them LOLs
Evan Kirshenbaum
> "tinwhistler" <ozzie...@post.harvard.edu> wrote:
>
>>The experience (of learning something for the first time, and then
>>suddenly encountering this something repeatedly in a short time
>>span) seems to be very common, so much so that some think there
>>should be a word for it. My nominee is "epiphanitis" (not just an
>>epiphany, but an onslaught of such).
>
> A good start, but, unfortunately, the "-itis" suffix customarily
> refers to an inflammation. Not quite what you'd mean here. How about
> "epiphanosis," as "-osis" merely means "condition."
Actually, it has two meanings, and the second is even more apt: an
abnormally large number of <whatever>.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |Of course, over the first 10^-10
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |seconds and 10^-30 cubic
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |centimeters it averages out to
|zero, but when you look in
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |detail....
(650)857-7572 | Philip Morrison
tinwhistler
> Actually, it has two meanings, and the second is even more apt: an
> abnormally large number of <whatever>.
>
Yes, I'm thinking that with this second meaning of "-osis" (large
number, not just a condition), "epiphanosis" is better than
"epiphanitiasis" or "epiphanititis." The world has already accepted
halitosis, how can it not embrace epiphanosis?
tinwhistler
LaReina del Perros wrote:
> On 28 Apr 2006 07:46:25 -0700, "tinwhistler"
> <ozzie...@post.harvard.edu> wrote:
>
> >LaReina del Perros wrote:
> >> On 27 Apr 2006 19:01:15 -0700, "tinwhistler"
> >..>> My nominee is "epiphanitis" (not just an epiphany, but an
> >> >onslaught of such).
> Are you, perhaps, thinking of elephantiasis?
>
> The "-iasis" suffix, indicating a process, is probably more apt than
> either "-itis" or "-osis."
I was thinking of "elephantiasis." But, with the second meaning of
"-osis" as meaning a large number, I'm inclined to go with
"epiphanosis."
Blue Hornet
So I gather. I thought I knew a fair amount of UK slang, but I had no
idea... Reminds me that I once worked on a US / Dutch / UK
collaboration for an Oracle database implementation. The (UK) project
leader suggested that we call ourselves the Key User Team, or shortened
to those initials. None of the Yanks had a problem with that, but the
Dutch women actually blushed and, "Uh ... um ... please not that."
I still have the jacket that shows we settled on Oracle Team. I'm sure
those initials are offensive somewhere in the world, too.
Peter Moylan
> Apteryx wrote:
>> My "Oxford English Reference Dictionary (2nd ed) notes it as "noun
>> US slang. a woman"
>
> I ran across this usage of "frail" in one of the stories from science
> fiction writer Larry Niven. It was in one of the "Known Space"
> series, and he refered to a "Jinxian frail". In these stories, Jinx
> is a very high-gravity world, so said "frail" would be a squat and
> powerful individual to most human males. I'm sure he used the term
> for humorous effect in this case.
If you are familiar with SF then you might know "The Last Starship from
Earth", by (John Boyd?). Our Hero was caught consorting with a woman of
the wrong caste, and was sentenced to Hell - a remote and inhospitable
planet - for that plus some antiestablishment opinions. During his
imprisonment he heard some fellow prisoners singing a song about him:
There once was a man who loved a frail
(something something something) and ended up in jail.
Or words something to that effect. From the context it was clear that
"frail" meant "young woman", with an undertone of "don't mess around
with women, they'll always get you into trouble". It might be relevant
that the singer was a member of a social underclass, possibly Black
American.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Please note the changed e-mail and web addresses. The domain
eepjm.newcastle.edu.au no longer exists, and I can no longer
reliably receive mail at my newcastle.edu.au addresses.
The optusnet address still has about 3 months of life left.
Peter Moylan
What's wrong with "Green car syndrome"? That's where you believe that
green cars are rare, until you suddenly notice that they're all over the
place. It happened to me when I bought a green car.
tinwhistler
Peter Moylan wrote:
> tinwhistler wrote:
>
> What's wrong with "Green car syndrome"? That's where you believe that
> green cars are rare, until you suddenly notice that they're all over the
> place. It happened to me when I bought a green car.
>
That's pretty good, although it's a bit longer than "epiphanosis."
I've heard "diegogarcity" suggested for this, which was coined along
these lines: the experience is a little like serendipity. The
etymology for the latter word relates to the island, Serendip, in the
Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia is another island in those waters,
providing a parallel for serendipity if such be desired.
Steve Hayes
wrote:
>Steve Hayes wrote:
>>
>> On 28 Apr 2006 07:00:18 -0700, uraniumc...@yahoo.com wrote:
>> >
>> >Steve Hayes wrote:
>> >> On 27 Apr 2006 17:23:06 -0700, uraniumc...@yahoo.com wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >The word was spoken by Veronica Lake, describing herself. The line went
>> >> >somwething like "We would not want people to think I'm your frail".
>> >> >
>> >> >The funny thing was I cannot find any reference to this in the
>> >> >dictionaries I have available to me right now.
>> >>
>> >> LOL
>> >>
>> >Why the LOL?
>>
>> The typical frail female.
>>
>> Little
>> Old
>> Lady
>
>And here I thought he was reacting to Steve's pointing out of a funny
>thing.
>
>I guess I have another thing coming.
You know, it's a punny thing...