Peckish
Katie Henry
"hungry." I think it means the opposite -- that the user is
feeling below par, out of sorts, no appetite. I was surprised
that it doesn't appear in any of my dictionaries.
Giles Johnson
: What does the word "peckish" mean? My friend insists it means
: Katie
: khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com
Sorry, your friend is right. My german-english dictionary (the only one I
have to hand) includes it and defines it as "(Brit col) ein bisschen hungrig"
Giles
lal...@delphi.com
>What does the word "peckish" mean? My friend insists it means
>"hungry." I think it means the opposite -- that the user is
>feeling below par, out of sorts, no appetite. I was surprised
>that it doesn't appear in any of my dictionaries.
I would have bet that you were correct, since I always thought that
"peckish" meant out of sorts. But my old OED Universal lists the word
as follows:
a. colloq. 1785. Disposed to 'peck' or eat; somewhat hungry.
Oh well, next time your friend feels peckish and invites you to go
along for something to eat, say that you are suffering from the pip
ever since you were wrong about peckish.
Les
Celia M. Elliott
In a previous article, lal...@delphi.com () says:
> khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com wrote:
>>What does the word "peckish" mean? My friend insists it means
>>"hungry." I think it means the opposite -- that the user is
>>feeling below par, out of sorts, no appetite. I was surprised
>>that it doesn't appear in any of my dictionaries.
>
>I would have bet that you were correct, since I always thought that
>"peckish" meant out of sorts. But my old OED Universal lists the word
>as follows:
>
> a. colloq. 1785. Disposed to 'peck' or eat; somewhat hungry.
>
>Oh well, next time your friend feels peckish and invites you to go
>along for something to eat, say that you are suffering from the pip
>ever since you were wrong about peckish.
Is this another example of "two countries with a common history divided
by a common language" misapprehension? I would have agreed with the two
previous posters--one's mood of disgruntlement leads to loss of appetite,
and one becomes "peckish." I defer to the owners of the OED--I can't
find the word in any of my US dictionaries, including my 9 lb.
Webster--that the accepted definition is "slightly hungry," but I think
the word has a different connotation this side of the pond.
Can anyone provide further enlightenment?
From the cultural capital of the Corn Belt,
--
Celia M. Elliott fus...@prairienet.org
Truly Donovan
But have you ever actually heard anyone say it on this side of the pond? I've
only heard it from English friends who were beginning to think it was time to
look for a place to have tea and only read it in English novels. I don't
recall ever having heard an American say it under any circumstances.
Come on, now -- 'fess up.
(Or maybe it's just that a hungry American is an irritable American.)
Truly Donovan
Steve Hayes
>What does the word "peckish" mean? My friend insists it means
>"hungry." I think it means the opposite -- that the user is
>feeling below par, out of sorts, no appetite. I was surprised
>that it doesn't appear in any of my dictionaries.
My dictionary says it means "feeling slightly hungry".
Perhaps you are confusing it with the phrase "keep your pecker up", meaning
"keep your spirits up".
My dictionary also informs me that in Britain "pecker" is a slang word for
"spirits", while in the US and Canada it is taboo slang for penis.
Another one of those words that causes transAtlantic confusion, like
"fanny".
============================================================
Steve Hayes, Editorial Department, University of South Africa
P.O. Box 392, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa
Internet: haye...@risc1.unisa.ac.za Fidonet: 5:7106/20.1
steve...@p1.f20.n7106.z5.fidonet.org
Ann.Tothill
>>What does the word "peckish" mean? My friend insists it means
>>"hungry." I think it means the opposite -- that the user is
>>feeling below par, out of sorts, no appetite. I was surprised
>>that it doesn't appear in any of my dictionaries.
I would have said that "feeling *peaky*" meant feeling below par, out of
sorts etc.
Charles Mitchell
>by a common language" misapprehension? I would have agreed with the two
>previous posters--one's mood of disgruntlement leads to loss of appetite,
>and one becomes "peckish." I defer to the owners of the OED--I can't
>find the word in any of my US dictionaries, including my 9 lb.
>Webster--that the accepted definition is "slightly hungry," but I think
>the word has a different connotation this side of the pond.
>
To me, this is a prime example of a word that's used in one
part of the English-speaking world (Great Britain, probably other
places) and not at all in another part (US at least, what about
Canada?)
Charlie
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Phone: 212 854-5023 201 Philosophy
si...@cuvmc.bitnet Columbia University
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Katie Henry
|> >> khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com wrote:
|> >>>What does the word "peckish" mean?
|>
|> But have you ever actually heard anyone say it on this side of the pond? I've
|> only heard it from English friends who were beginning to think it was time to
|> look for a place to have tea and only read it in English novels. I don't
|> recall ever having heard an American say it under any circumstances.
|>
|> Come on, now -- 'fess up.
I posted the original question. My friend (who claims, correctly,
that peckish means hungry) is American, but she tends to toss out
outdated/obscure/foreign words. She'll go out for cocktails,
she'll take some snaps, etc. I don't remember ever hearing an
American use it seriously, and I have no idea how I came up with
my (wrong) definition. But several other Americans agreed with
me, so at least I'm not wrong alone.
katie
Brent Dickerson
: [ . . . ]
: [H]ave you ever actually heard anyone say it on this side of the pond? I've
: only heard it from English friends who were beginning to think it was time
: to look for a place to have tea and only read it in English novels. I
: don't recall ever having heard an American say it under any circumstances.
: Come on, now -- 'fess up.
: (Or maybe it's just that a hungry American is an irritable American.)
: Truly Donovan
TD:
YES! I heard it in common conversation ONCE here in Southern
California. Perhaps intriguingly, and disjunctly from the rest of the
conversation, the word and its accompanying sentence were delivered with
a hillbilly twang; the speaker evidently found it redolent of the Ozarks.
All the Best,
--BCD
K.P. Hart
And what about Monty Python's Cheese Emporium Sketch, where
John Cleese declares himself to `all peckish' --- draws a blank from
the shopkeeper --- says he's `esurient' --- more blank ---
finall says: 'ere, I were all hungry lad (Yorkshire-like dialect) ---
now _this_ the shopkeeper does understand
--
K. P. Hart PAPER: Department of Pure Mathematics
E-MAIL: wia...@dutrun2.tudelft.nl TU Delft
K.P....@twi.tudelft.nl Postbus 5031
PHONE: +31-15-784572 2600 GA Delft
Stephen Chernicoff
haye...@risc1.unisa.ac.za (Steve Hayes) wrote:
> Perhaps you are confusing it with the phrase "keep your pecker up", meaning
> "keep your spirits up".
>
> My dictionary also informs me that in Britain "pecker" is a slang word for
> "spirits", while in the US and Canada it is taboo slang for penis.
When Roger Craig was managing the San Francisco Giants (that's a baseball
team, for you overseas lot), one of his pet phrases was "Don't get your
dauber down," with the same general meaning as the phrase you quote above.
I always understood it as a phallic reference, but I could be wrong.
==================================================================
| Steve Chernicoff | |
| 1114 Hillview Road | VISUALIZE |
| Berkeley, California 94708 | WHIRLED |
| | PEAS. |
| cher...@ccnet.com | |
==================================================================
Katie Henry
|> In article <3941vq$h...@maggie.austin.wireline.slb.com> khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com (Katie Henry) writes:
|>
|> >What does the word "peckish" mean?
|> Perhaps you are confusing it with the phrase "keep your pecker up", meaning
|> "keep your spirits up".
|>
|> My dictionary also informs me that in Britain "pecker" is a slang word for
|> "spirits", while in the US and Canada it is taboo slang for penis.
I may have confused "peckish" with "peaked," but there ain't no
way I confused it with "keep your pecker up." Your dictionary is
correct. That's one expression you'll want to leave at home when
you bring the kiddies to Disneyland. :-)
katie
Brent Dickerson
: katie
K (*inter*alia*):
A correspondent of mine who lived in Birmingham, England, once advised me
while I floundered in a moment of moral crisis to "keep [my] pecker up".
I advised him that, while this might have its uses, the uses were not on
general consideration those which should be encouraged in public. His
response was that, in the Midlands, exposure of the nose was not
generally considered improper no matter what its altitude.
I stood corrected.
Best Wishes (and, at present, nasally altitudinous [please don't
misunderstand]),
--BCD
Rick Kitchen
In a previous article, khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com (Katie Henry) says:
>she'll take some snaps, etc.
What does this mean? The only meaning I can think of, is that she's a
football quarterback.
--
Rick Kitchen ap...@yfn.ysu.edu
"Gods don't like people not doing much work. People who aren't busy all
the time might start to *think*.
--Terry Pratchett, "Small Gods"
Dragon
>In article <39hi7h$a...@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu> fus...@prairienet.org (Celia M. Elliott) writes:
>>Is this another example of "two countries with a common history divided
>>by a common language" misapprehension? I would have agreed with the two
>>previous posters--one's mood of disgruntlement leads to loss of appetite,
>>and one becomes "peckish." I defer to the owners of the OED--I can't
>>find the word in any of my US dictionaries, including my 9 lb.
>>Webster--that the accepted definition is "slightly hungry," but I think
>>the word has a different connotation this side of the pond.
What kind of dictionaries you folks using out there? Merriam-Webster's 10th
Collegiate (cost all of $25 I think) has peckish, as well as those two
Welsh wyrds posted the other day. BTW, it lists peckish first as hungry,
then as irritable.
>But have you ever actually heard anyone say it on this side of the pond? I've
>only heard it from English friends who were beginning to think it was time to
>look for a place to have tea and only read it in English novels. I don't
>recall ever having heard an American say it under any circumstances.
First time I saw it was at the very end of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".
--
David Fiedler Internet:da...@infopro.com or da...@ost.com UUCP:infopro!david
USMail:InfoPro Systems, PO Box 220 Rescue CA 95672 Phone:916/677-5870 FAX:-5873
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
creat_sws: Create Static Warp Shell
Stephen Chernicoff
haye...@risc1.unisa.ac.za (Steve Hayes) wrote:
> Another one of those words that causes transAtlantic confusion, like
> "fanny".
...or "bum."
In Paris a few years back, I heard a street performer in the Place St.
Michel singing a song by Stevie Wonder as follows:
I just called to say I love you,
And I mean it from my bottom of my heart.
I was standing with a group of Australian vacationers I had befriended,
and they thought it was just the funniest thing they'd ever heard. If I
hadn't been with them, it would never have struck my American ear that
way.
Paul J Kriha
> haye...@risc1.unisa.ac.za (Steve Hayes) wrote:
>
> > Another one of those words that causes transAtlantic confusion, like
> > "fanny".
>
>
>
>
..or "rubber". (resulting this time in transPacific confusion)
Paul JK.
Bruce Tober
>
> In a previous article, khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com (Katie Henry) says:
>
> >she'll take some snaps, etc.
>
> What does this mean? The only meaning I can think of, is that she's a
It refers to taking photographs, as in "She'll take some snapshots
(ie photographs)."
>
--
tbt
Keith Ivey
: In a previous article, khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com
: >she'll take some snaps, etc.
: What does this mean? The only meaning I can think of, is
: that she's a football quarterback.
"Snaps" = "snapshots" (photographs)
--Keith Ivey <kci...@cpcug.org>
Washington, DC
Ted Marcus
DR>What kind of dictionaries you folks using out there? Merriam-Webster's 10th
DR>Collegiate (cost all of $25 I think) has peckish, as well as those two
DR>Welsh wyrds posted the other day. BTW, it lists peckish first as hungry,
DR>then as irritable.
That dictionary labels the "hungry" meaning as "chiefly Brit". The
"crotchety" meaning does not carry that label.
Ted R. Marcus
Internet reply to: ted.marcus%greate...@kaiwan.com
ted.m...@tsbbs.com
---
* SLMR 2.1a * Chastity is the most unnatural of the sexual perversions.
Ray Girvan
> haye...@risc1.unisa.ac.za (Steve Hayes) wrote:
> >> ... the phrase "keep your pecker up", meaning "keep your
>>> spirits up".
> one of [Roger Craig's] pet phrases was "Don't get your dauber
> down," with the same general meaning as the phrase you quote
> above. I always understood it as a phallic reference, but I
> could be wrong.
In Philip K Dick's 'Ubik', the hero is sent an encouraging message: "Keep
the old swizer up". Is that the same?
Ray
==============================================================
Ray Girvan
rgi...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Computer Journalist
Steve Hayes
>
>>she'll take some snaps, etc.
>
>What does this mean? The only meaning I can think of, is that she's a
>football quarterback.
What's a quarterback? some kind of photographer?
Kathleen Much
>>she'll take some snaps, etc.
>
>What does this mean? The only meaning I can think of, is that she's a
>football quarterback.
snaps = snapshots = photographs
--
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Kathleen Much, Editor |Email: kath...@casbs.stanford.EDU
CASBS, 202 Junipero Serra Blvd. |Phone: (415) 321-2052 x 325
Stanford, CA 94305 |Fax: (415) 321-1192
Rick Kitchen
In a previous article, khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com (Katie Henry) says:
>In article <hayesstw.83...@risc1.unisa.ac.za>, haye...@risc1.unisa.ac.za (Steve Hayes) writes:
>|> In article <39ubdn$p...@news.ysu.edu> ap...@yfn.ysu.edu (Rick Kitchen) writes:
>|> >
>|> >>she'll take some snaps, etc.
>|> >
>|> >What does this mean? The only meaning I can think of, is that she's a
>|> >football quarterback.
>|>
>|> What's a quarterback? some kind of photographer?
>
>Hahahahaha... Oops, you're not from the U.S. :-)
>
>A quarterback is a player in the American game of football.
>Football is roughly equivalent to soccer. The quarterback's
>job is to get the ball and carry it across a goal line.
>He will occasionally perform a maneuver known as "snapping
>the ball." I have no idea what this means, and everything
>else I've written could be wrong because I know nothing
>about football, but I felt an obligation to answer because
>I made the original, unclear post.
Well, not quite. The "center" snaps the ball. The quarterback takes the
ball from the center, and therefore "takes the snap."
I don't think I've ever heard a snapshot called a snap. Maybe I've led
a sheltered life.
Annabel Smyth
khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com "Katie Henry" writes:
>A quarterback is a player in the American game of football.
>Football is roughly equivalent to soccer. The quarterback's
>job is to get the ball and carry it across a goal line.
>He will occasionally perform a maneuver known as "snapping
>the ball." I have no idea what this means, and everything
>else I've written could be wrong because I know nothing
>about football, but I felt an obligation to answer because
>I made the original, unclear post.
>
I hate to tell you, but American football, as it is known in this
country is NOTHING LIKE our favourite game! In British football,
sometimes known as "soccer", the teams don't wear protective
clothing, except shin pads under their socks, they may not touch
the ball with their hands, under any circumstances, and play is
continuous for 45 minutes each half, except for restarts after goals,
fouls, etc., unlike American football where, from what I have seen of
it on television, play lasts for about 5 seconds and then there is
a time-out. It always looks very "set-piece" to me. Our lot, if they
have to stop, don't start again from exactly the same places.
Rugby football is more like American football, in that the ball is
oval and may be carried in the hands, but again, play is quasi-
continuous and the players do not wear protective clothing. Gaelic
football and "Aussie rules" are, I believe, similarly related.
Mind you, we do have two sorts of rugby - Rugby League, which is
the professional game, and Rugby Union, known as rugger, and is
apparently played by "Welshmen and gentlemen with odd-shaped balls".
--
Annabel Smyth Ann...@amsmyth.demon.co.uk
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Only when the caterpillar has consented to . . . total
annihilation can the butterfly be constructed." (Sara Maitland)
Gareth Mark Evans
In a previous article, khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com (Katie Henry) says:
>In article <hayesstw.83...@risc1.unisa.ac.za>, haye...@risc1.unisa.ac.za (Steve Hayes) writes:
>|> In article <39ubdn$p...@news.ysu.edu> ap...@yfn.ysu.edu (Rick Kitchen) writes:
>|> >
>|> >>she'll take some snaps, etc.
Can anyone remember the context? Inthe UK, you can take holiday snaps, which are, of course, a celluliod representation of passing scenes whilst on vacation (ie photos)!
There is also a ginger-spiced sweet called a brandy-snap, but I doubt it's that one!
However, if she *took* some snaps, then this hardly relates to the game of American Football, does it?
> I don't think I've ever heard a snapshot called a snap. Maybe I've led
> a sheltered life.
Either that, or it's not in common usage in your neck of the woods.
--
> Rick Kitchen ap...@yfn.ysu.edu
Gareth
Stephen Chernicoff
khe...@austin.wireline.slb.com (Katie Henry) wrote:
> A quarterback is a player in the American game of football.
> Football is roughly equivalent to soccer. The quarterback's
> job is to get the ball and carry it across a goal line.
> He will occasionally perform a maneuver known as "snapping
> the ball." I have no idea what this means, and everything
> else I've written could be wrong because I know nothing
> about football, but I felt an obligation to answer because
> I made the original, unclear post.
Katie has it almost but not quite right. First of all, North American
"gridiron" football (played in slightly variant forms in both the US and
Canada) is actually much more closely related to rugby than to soccer.
Secondly, the quarterback doesn't snap the ball, he -receives- the snap
from the center. At the end of each play, the ball is "spotted" by the
officials at a particular point on the field. It is then put back in play
by the center, who snaps it (passes it backward between his legs) to the
quarterback, standing behind him. This is roughly analogous to the "play
the ball" maneuver in Rugby League football. The quarterback may then try
to carry the ball toward and across the goal line, as Katie describes, but
it is far more common for him either to (1) hand it to another player to
carry or (2) attempt a forward pass. (The latter, of course, would be
severely frowned upon in rugby.)