The Origin of "Yonks"?
mark_et...@my-deja.com
In a recent e-mail an American friend queried my use of the word
"yonks" (as in "haven't seen you for yonks") and demanded an
explanation, which I was unable to give her. It is an expression I have
heard and used myself many times, without knowing the origin.
I did a quick Deja search of this forum, and although the word has been
used a few times, even by the esteemed Mr. Follett, it seems that no
explanation has yet been given. Is it a purely British expression, or
has it spread elsewhere? Where on earth does it come from?
TIA
Mark Etheridge
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
aurator
>
> Hi there
>
> In a recent e-mail an American friend queried my use of the word
> "yonks" (as in "haven't seen you for yonks") and demanded an
> explanation, which I was unable to give her. It is an expression I have
> heard and used myself many times, without knowing the origin.
>
> I did a quick Deja search of this forum, and although the word has been
> used a few times, even by the esteemed Mr. Follett, it seems that no
> explanation has yet been given. Is it a purely British expression, or
> has it spread elsewhere? Where on earth does it come from?
The CED says origin unknown.
I've always fancied it was a play on Donkey's years..as in "I've not
seen him for Donkey's years." "I've not seen him for yonks"
As to where "Donkey's years" originates, well, I'd be an ass to guess
that one.
aurator
Martin Ambuhl
mark_et...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> Hi there
>
> In a recent e-mail an American friend queried my use of the word
> "yonks" (as in "haven't seen you for yonks") and demanded an
> explanation, which I was unable to give her. It is an expression I have
> heard and used myself many times, without knowing the origin.
>
> I did a quick Deja search of this forum, and although the word has been
> used a few times, even by the esteemed Mr. Follett, it seems that no
> explanation has yet been given. Is it a purely British expression, or
> has it spread elsewhere? Where on earth does it come from?
None of Chambers, Green (Cassell DoS), or Ayto (ODoS) give it a regional tag;
COD10 does (Brit.). Chapman (DoAS) does not list it.
--
Martin Ambuhl mam...@earthlink.net
What one knows is, in youth, of little moment; they know enough who
know how to learn. - Henry Adams
A thick skin is a gift from God. - Konrad Adenauer
Mike Barnes
>Hi there
>
>In a recent e-mail an American friend queried my use of the word
>"yonks" (as in "haven't seen you for yonks") and demanded an
>explanation, which I was unable to give her. It is an expression I have
>heard and used myself many times, without knowing the origin.
>
>I did a quick Deja search of this forum, and although the word has been
>used a few times, even by the esteemed Mr. Follett, it seems that no
>explanation has yet been given. Is it a purely British expression, or
>has it spread elsewhere? Where on earth does it come from?
From Chambers:
*yonks* (colloq) n. ages, a long time. [Poss _y_ears, m_on_ths and
wee_ks_; or perh compressed from _donkey's years_]
--
Mike Barnes
Michael West
Mark Etheridge asked
> Is [yonks] a purely British expression, or
> has it spread elsewhere? Where on earth does it come from?
I don't recall ever hearing it in my 50
years in the US, but it is quite common
here in Oz.
My Collins [Australian] English Dictionary,
3rd ed., says its origin is unknown, but
inasmuch as I find that it is usually used
by the same people who also say
"donkey's years", my money is riding
with that derivation.
--
Mike West
Melbourne
aurator
better, and in response to :
>
> mark_et...@my-deja.com who wrote:
> >
> > Hi there
> >
> > In a recent e-mail an American friend queried my use of the word
> > "yonks" (as in "haven't seen you for yonks") and demanded an
> > explanation, which I was unable to give her. It is an expression I have
> > heard and used myself many times, without knowing the origin.
> >
> > I did a quick Deja search of this forum, and although the word has been
> > used a few times, even by the esteemed Mr. Follett, it seems that no
> > has it spread elsewhere? Where on earth does it come from?
>
> The CED says origin unknown.
>
> I've always fancied it was a play on Donkey's years..as in "I've not
> seen him for Donkey's years." "I've not seen him for yonks"
>
> As to where "Donkey's years" originates, well, I'd be an ass to guess
> that one.
>
> aurator
Time to be an ass.....
"As long a Donkey's years"
This is a corruption of a word because of the running of the "s" of one
word into the 'y' of the following word. The phrase explains itself
when it is pointed out that the original was "As long as Donkey's ears,"
the longest of any animal.
Edwin Radford. "Unusual Words - and how they came about." The
Philosophical Library. New York 1946.
aurator
There is no earthly gate, but an asse laden with gold can enter.
John Ray’s English Proverbs 1670
Padraig Breathnach
>My Collins [Australian] English Dictionary,
>3rd ed., says its origin is unknown, but
>inasmuch as I find that it is usually used
>by the same people who also say
>"donkey's years", my money is riding
>with that derivation.
>
Something wrong with the logic here. The people who say "donkey's years"
have no need for another term with much the same meaning. In any event, they
hardly use both terms in the one statement.
Wait long enough, and we'll have "donkey's yonks".
PB
Michael West
"Padraig Breathnach" wrote
> Michael West wrote:
>
> >My Collins [Australian] English Dictionary,
> >3rd ed., says its origin is unknown, but
> >inasmuch as I find that it is usually used
> >by the same people who also say
> >"donkey's years", my money is riding
> >with that derivation.
> >
> Something wrong with the logic here. The people who say "donkey's years"
> have no need for another term with much the same meaning. In any event,
they
> hardly use both terms in the one statement.
>
No problem with my logic -- not in this instance anyway.
I didn't say they used both expressions in the same statement.
--
MW
gry...@ozemail.dotcom.dotau
wrote:
> "As long a Donkey's years"
> This is a corruption of a word because of the running of the "s" of one
> word into the 'y' of the following word. The phrase explains itself
> when it is pointed out that the original was "As long as Donkey's ears,"
> the longest of any animal.
>
> Edwin Radford. "Unusual Words - and how they came about." The
> Philosophical Library. New York 1946.
I suspect that it actually derives from rhyming slang.
Donkey's ears = years.
There are quite a few common exressions whose roots in rhyming slang
have been obscured. One which springs to mind is "raspberry", in the
sense of a "bronx cheer":
Raspberry tart = ....
Brian.
stevefranc...@gmail.com
> Hi there
>
> In a recent e-mail an American friend queried my use of the word
> "yonks" (as in "haven't seen you for yonks") and demanded an
> explanation, which I was unable to give her. It is an expression I have
> heard and used myself many times, without knowing the origin.
>
> I did a quick Deja search of this forum, and although the word has been
> used a few times, even by the esteemed Mr. Follett, it seems that no
> explanation has yet been given. Is it a purely British expression, or
> has it spread elsewhere? Where on earth does it come from?
>
RH Draney
to a "my-deja.com" address!)...all is right with the universe....
The explanation has, I'm sure, been made in the intervening years....r
pensive hamster
> On 9/29/2015 1:41 AM, stevefranc...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Sunday, 4 June 2000 08:00:00 UTC+1, mark_et...@my-deja.com wrote:
> >> Hi there
> >>
> >> In a recent e-mail an American friend queried my use of the word
> >> "yonks" (as in "haven't seen you for yonks") and demanded an
> >> explanation, which I was unable to give her. It is an expression I have
> >> heard and used myself many times, without knowing the origin.
> >>
> >> I did a quick Deja search of this forum, and although the word has been
> >> used a few times, even by the esteemed Mr. Follett, it seems that no
> >> explanation has yet been given. Is it a purely British expression, or
> >> has it spread elsewhere? Where on earth does it come from?
> >>
>
> Fifteen years between post and response, gmail.com address (responding
> to a "my-deja.com" address!)...all is right with the universe....
>
> The explanation has, I'm sure, been made in the intervening years....r
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/232115?redirectedFrom=yonks&
Etymology: Origin unknown.
slang. A long time, 'ages'; chiefly in phr. for yonks.
1968 Daily Mirror 27 Aug. 7/1, I rang singer Julie Driscoll... She said:
'I haven't heard from you for yonks.'
1977 'J. Gash' Judas Pair iv. 54 Any man that says he can remain
celibate for yonks on end is not quite telling the truth.
1980 Oxf. Times 20 June 18 Even though Gabriel left Genesis yonks
ago, his music and particularly his vocals remind one of Genesis.
1984 Listener 10 May 32/2 The English have been writing poetry for
yonks, and have become damned good at it too.
1985 A. Blond Book Bk. ix. 142 Nicholas Bagnall and David Holloway
have run the Telegraph's book pages for yonks.
[and that's the full OED entry]
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Peter Duncanson [BrE]
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/yonks
Origin
1960s: origin unknown; perhaps related to donkey's years (see
donkey).
Wiktionary adds to that the theory that
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yonks
it is an acronym from years, months, weeks.
The origin is discussed here:
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-yon1.htm
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
David Stuart-Mogg wrote: “It was in very common usage at Clifton
College, Bristol, not later than 1955 and I subsequently heard it
used by naval officers, again still in the 1950s.” This concurs with
Paul Beale’s note in the 1984 revision of Eric Partridge’s
Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English that he had first
heard it in the army in Cyprus in 1957. Taken together, these also
imply that it was created as services slang.
Which triggered a thought regarding "donkey's years" as an origin.
In both British and American armed services there is a tendency for
items of equipment, etc. to be given official names structured as "noun,
adjective(s)".
There are two American examples here:
http://www.wearethemighty.com/military-items-civilian-names-2015-05
"Tape, adhesive cloth, 2 in." [is] Duct tape/Duck tape
and
"Meal, Ready to Eat" (MRE)
I noticed that pattern when I was in the British Royal Air Force
multiples decades ago.
I also came across jocular rearranging of non-military phrases into that
form.
So it occurred to me that a jocular reordering of the phrase meaning a
long time, "donkey's years" to "years, donkey's" could easily be
abbreviated to "yonks", perhaps via "yonkey's.
Just a thought.
David Kleinecke
man in a dull posting might use it to describe his career.
Will Parsons
>
> Donkey-years is perhaps a measure of work like man-hour. A military
> man in a dull posting might use it to describe his career.
surely a measure of time.
--
Will
Bob Martin
"yonx meaning infinity : y upon x where x = 0"
(Yes, I know that division by 0 is undefined)
David Kleinecke
Will Parsons
--
Will
Jerry Friedman
find any examples with "yonx" before 1968 at Google Books. Worth a
try.)
--
Jerry Friedman
David Kleinecke
How many man-hours will this task require?
How many man-days ...
. . .
How many man-years ...
And I was speculating that someone bored enough with the job might
compare the workers to donkeys.
Will Parsons
> On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 10:58:21 AM UTC-7, Will Parsons wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 30 Sep 2015 1:12 PM -0400, David Kleinecke wrote:
>> > On Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 5:25:22 PM UTC-7, Will Parsons wrote:
>> >> On Tuesday, 29 Sep 2015 7:42 PM -0400, David Kleinecke wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> > Donkey-years is perhaps a measure of work like man-hour. A military
>> >> > man in a dull posting might use it to describe his career.
>> >>
>> >> What? Since when? "Donkey's-years" (or is it "donkeys'-years"?) is
>> >> surely a measure of time.
>> >
>> > How many donkey-years will this task require?
>>
>> Have you actually heard anyone say that?
>
> I have heard:
> How many man-hours will this task require?
> How many man-days ...
> . . .
> How many man-years ...
> And I was speculating that someone bored enough with the job might
> compare the workers to donkeys.
--
Will
Robert Bannister
Disappointingly, it has been ages since I met anyone who pronounced
"ears" as "years" or "yers", but there are plenty around somewhere or other.
--
Robert Bannister
Perth, Western Australia
Janet
Peter Moylan
> On 9/29/2015 1:41 AM, stevefranc...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Sunday, 4 June 2000 08:00:00 UTC+1, mark_et...@my-deja.com wrote:
>>> Hi there
>>>
>>> In a recent e-mail an American friend queried my use of the word
>>> "yonks" (as in "haven't seen you for yonks") and demanded an
>>> explanation, which I was unable to give her. It is an expression I have
>>> heard and used myself many times, without knowing the origin.
>>>
>> "Yonths" meaning years and months. It has changed i think into "Yonks"
>
> Fifteen years between post and response, gmail.com address (responding
> to a "my-deja.com" address!)...all is right with the universe....
>
> The explanation has, I'm sure, been made in the intervening years....r
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Peter Moylan
>
> to a "my-deja.com" address!)...all is right with the universe....
as read.
There is one other consistent part of the pattern: such posters are
invariably drive-by posters. They inject their words of wisdom into the
newsgroup, and then disappear, not waiting for the counterexamples. Most
likely it's because they found the thread by googling, but didn't record
how to find it again.
Peter T. Daniels
> On 2015-Sep-29 19:48, RH Draney wrote:
> > Fifteen years between post and response, gmail.com address (responding
> > to a "my-deja.com" address!)...all is right with the universe....
>
> And posting through Google Groups, of course, but I guess you took that
> as read.
>
> There is one other consistent part of the pattern: such posters are
> invariably drive-by posters. They inject their words of wisdom into the
> newsgroup, and then disappear, not waiting for the counterexamples. Most
> likely it's because they found the thread by googling, but didn't record
> how to find it again.