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what is a nimrod
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micky
Aug 22, 2012, 11:28:03 AM8/22/12
to
What do people think a nimrod is?
My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
full.
My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
full.
Guy Barry
Aug 22, 2012, 11:35:09 AM8/22/12
to
"micky" wrote in message news:vdu938hc0ep0npqor...@4ax.com...
> What do people think a nimrod is?
> My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
> dictionary says.
hunter". It's probably best known as the title of one of Elgar's Enigma
Variations.
--
Guy Barry
![Peter Duncanson [BrE]'s profile photo](http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a-/ALV-UjU1GGYFBCZgBCNB-pRgkosMu-ej0qpnECw3jc8uGYOTiF8a=s40-c)
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
Aug 22, 2012, 12:05:24 PM8/22/12
to
On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
wrote:
There seem to be two meanings of "nimrod" (small n) in American English.
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/nimrod
1. A hunter.
2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nimrod
Nim�rod
1 : a descendant of Ham represented in Genesis as a mighty hunter
and a king of Shinar
2 not capitalized : hunter
3 not capitalized slang : idiot, jerk
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
wrote:
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/nimrod
1. A hunter.
2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nimrod
Nim�rod
1 : a descendant of Ham represented in Genesis as a mighty hunter
and a king of Shinar
2 not capitalized : hunter
3 not capitalized slang : idiot, jerk
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Horace LaBadie
Aug 22, 2012, 12:43:22 PM8/22/12
to
In article <vdu938hc0ep0npqor...@4ax.com>,
In popular speech, usually a dope. That meaning seems to have originated
with Chuck Jones. Bugs Bunny calls Elmer Fudd a "poor little Nimrod,"
mocking his hunting skills.
In popular speech, usually a dope. That meaning seems to have originated
with Chuck Jones. Bugs Bunny calls Elmer Fudd a "poor little Nimrod,"
mocking his hunting skills.
Steve Hayes
Aug 22, 2012, 12:54:09 PM8/22/12
to
from the Bible:
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod
the mighty hunter before the LORD (Genesis 10:8-9).
But nowadays it is often used ironically, of someone who fancies himself as a
mighty hunter, as in Tom Lehrer's song:
I always will remember, 'twas a year ago november,
I went out to hunt some deer On a mornin' bright and clear.
I went and shot the maximum the game laws would allow,
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow.
I was in no mood to trifle, I took down my trusty rifle
And went out to stalk my prey. What a haul I made that day.
I tied them to my fender, and I drove them home somehow,
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow.
The law was very firm, it Took away my permit,
The worst punishment I ever endured.
It turned out there was a reason, Cows were out of season,
And one of the hunters wasn't insured.
People ask me how I do it, And I say, "there's nothin' to it,
You just stand there lookin' cute, And when something moves, you shoot!"
And there's ten stuffed heads in my trophy room right now,
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a pure-bred Guernsey cow.
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Steve Hayes
Aug 22, 2012, 12:55:27 PM8/22/12
to
On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:35:09 +0100, "Guy Barry" <guy....@blueyonder.co.uk>
wrote:
It is indeed a proper name, and I know someone called Nimrod, but when
preceded by the indefinite article, with a lower-case n, it refers to a
wannabe mighty hunter.
wrote:
preceded by the indefinite article, with a lower-case n, it refers to a
wannabe mighty hunter.
GordonD
Aug 22, 2012, 1:27:59 PM8/22/12
to
"Steve Hayes" <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote in message
news:o73a38li4m8psu0ue...@4ax.com...
the Comet airliner, which was in service with the RAF from 1969 until 2011.
I think most people here would think of that before any other definition.
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland
"Slipped the surly bonds of Earth...to touch the face of God."
news:o73a38li4m8psu0ue...@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
> wrote:
>
>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>
>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>full.
>
> A hunter.
In the UK it's the name of a patrol aircraft, an heavily modified version of
> wrote:
>
>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>
>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>full.
>
> A hunter.
the Comet airliner, which was in service with the RAF from 1969 until 2011.
I think most people here would think of that before any other definition.
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland
"Slipped the surly bonds of Earth...to touch the face of God."
Jerry Friedman
Aug 22, 2012, 12:12:31 PM8/22/12
to
On Aug 22, 10:05 am, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <m...@peterduncanson.net>
wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONOmis...@bigfoot.com>
Bugs Bunny addresses Elmer Fudd as "Nimrod", misinterpreted by
generations of children.
--
Jerry Friedman
wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONOmis...@bigfoot.com>
> wrote:
>
> >What do people think a nimrod is?
>
> >My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
> >dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
> >around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
> >and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
> >ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
> >full.
>
> There seem to be two meanings of "nimrod" (small n) in American English.http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/nimrod
>
> >What do people think a nimrod is?
>
> >My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
> >dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
> >around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
> >and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
> >ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
> >full.
>
>
> 1. A hunter.
>
> 2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
>
> http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nimrod
>
> Nim rod
> 1 : a descendant of Ham represented in Genesis as a mighty hunter
> and a king of Shinar
> 2 not capitalized : hunter
> 3 not capitalized slang : idiot, jerk
If I'm not mistaken, the meaning "idiot" comes from a cartoon where
> 1. A hunter.
>
> 2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
>
> http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nimrod
>
> Nim rod
> 1 : a descendant of Ham represented in Genesis as a mighty hunter
> and a king of Shinar
> 2 not capitalized : hunter
> 3 not capitalized slang : idiot, jerk
Bugs Bunny addresses Elmer Fudd as "Nimrod", misinterpreted by
generations of children.
--
Jerry Friedman
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
Aug 22, 2012, 1:58:39 PM8/22/12
to
On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:05:24 +0100, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]"
<ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
>On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
>wrote:
>
>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>
>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>full.
>>
>There seem to be two meanings of "nimrod" (small n) in American English.
>http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/nimrod
>
> 1. A hunter.
>
> 2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
Both those meanings were united in the person of Vice-President Dick
<ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
>On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
>wrote:
>
>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>
>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>full.
>>
>There seem to be two meanings of "nimrod" (small n) in American English.
>http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/nimrod
>
> 1. A hunter.
>
> 2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
Cheney when he shot his hunting partner Harry Whittington in 2006:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_cheney#Hunting_incident
Message has been deleted
Steve Hayes
Aug 22, 2012, 3:23:45 PM8/22/12
to
On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 18:27:59 +0100, "GordonD" <g.d...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>"Steve Hayes" <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote in message
>news:o73a38li4m8psu0ue...@4ax.com...
>> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>>
>>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>>full.
>>
>> A hunter.
>
>
>In the UK it's the name of a patrol aircraft, an heavily modified version of
>the Comet airliner, which was in service with the RAF from 1969 until 2011.
>I think most people here would think of that before any other definition.
That plane with a huge radar thingy attached?
>"Steve Hayes" <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote in message
>news:o73a38li4m8psu0ue...@4ax.com...
>> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>>
>>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>>full.
>>
>> A hunter.
>
>
>In the UK it's the name of a patrol aircraft, an heavily modified version of
>the Comet airliner, which was in service with the RAF from 1969 until 2011.
>I think most people here would think of that before any other definition.
That would be a Nimrod, not a nimrod, I would think.
And isn't it intended to be a submarine hunter?
Donna Richoux
Aug 22, 2012, 3:37:36 PM8/22/12
to
Horace LaBadie <hwlab...@nospam.highstream.net> wrote:
> In article <vdu938hc0ep0npqor...@4ax.com>,
> micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
> > What do people think a nimrod is?
>
>
> In popular speech, usually a dope. That meaning seems to have originated
> with Chuck Jones. Bugs Bunny calls Elmer Fudd a "poor little Nimrod,"
> mocking his hunting skills.
First point.
> In article <vdu938hc0ep0npqor...@4ax.com>,
> micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
> > What do people think a nimrod is?
>
>
> In popular speech, usually a dope. That meaning seems to have originated
> with Chuck Jones. Bugs Bunny calls Elmer Fudd a "poor little Nimrod,"
> mocking his hunting skills.
Not originated, although you'll find this claim in many places. The AUE
FAQ points out the the slang meaning of "stupid person" is found earlier
than Bugs Bunny. The AUE FAQ entry begins with the Biblical figure, and
then says:
---------------
http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxnimrod.html
... In contemporary U.S. slang, "nimrod" means "fool, numbskull".
Rex Knepp ingeniously suggested that the origin of this was Bugs
Bunny's taunt of Elmer Fudd: "So long, Nimrod." Unfortunately for
this theory, Jesse Sheidlower says that Random House has two
citations of "nimrod" = "numbskull" from the 1930s, before the Bugs
Bunny episode containing the taunt.
Ben Zimmer gave us the two Jesse Sheidlower citations:
Jesse Sheidlower supplies the following from the Random House Historical
Dictionary of American Slang:
----------
1932 Hecht & Fowler _Great Magoo_ 183: He's in love with her. That makes
about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second.
1934 de Leon & Jones _You're Telling Me_ (film): Little too much whip in
that club, nimrod.
----------
Ben Zimmer added:
Neither citation appears in a context supporting a reading of
'hunter', he notes. I see that the 1934 citation is from a W.C. Fields
movie, and this may have been the immediate inspiration for the Warner
Bros. writers, just as Abbott & Costello's 1941 movie "Buck Privates"
may have inspired Bugs' subsequent use of "maroon". Both Fields and
Abbott/Costello were frequently imitated in the Warner Bros. cartoons
(see <http://members.aol.com/EOCostello/> for examples). -- Ben
-----
Second point.
The final point to add is that "nimrod" was slang for "penis" in the
late 19th-early 20th century. It was in the 1984 Partridge's (i.e. UK)
"Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. How many slang words
for penis or masturbator have gone the route of meaning stupid loser?
Third point.
Although people blithely say over and over they remember Warner Brothers
cartoons with Bugs calling Elmer Fudd a nimrod, it's very hard to prove
this. There's some evidence it may have involved Daffy Duck or Yosemite
Sam. In 2000 Evan and I both found an isolated WAV file of Bugs saying:
[Eh or Neh] I couldn't do that to the little nimrod.
but that website and others are no longer working, and even the maker of
that site had no clue to the year and episode.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux
GordonD
Aug 22, 2012, 5:03:08 PM8/22/12
to
"Steve Hayes" <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote in message
news:s9ca3891mvvjamm0m...@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 18:27:59 +0100, "GordonD" <g.d...@btinternet.com>
> wrote:
>
>>"Steve Hayes" <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote in message
>>news:o73a38li4m8psu0ue...@4ax.com...
>>> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>>>
>>>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>>>full.
>>>
>>> A hunter.
>>
>>
>>In the UK it's the name of a patrol aircraft, an heavily modified version
>>of
>>the Comet airliner, which was in service with the RAF from 1969 until
>>2011.
>>I think most people here would think of that before any other definition.
>
> That plane with a huge radar thingy attached?
>
> That would be a Nimrod, not a nimrod, I would think.
>
> And isn't it intended to be a submarine hunter?
Well, the lower-case 'n' doesn't come across in speech.
> wrote:
>
>>"Steve Hayes" <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote in message
>>news:o73a38li4m8psu0ue...@4ax.com...
>>> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>>>
>>>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>>>full.
>>>
>>> A hunter.
>>
>>
>>In the UK it's the name of a patrol aircraft, an heavily modified version
>>of
>>the Comet airliner, which was in service with the RAF from 1969 until
>>2011.
>>I think most people here would think of that before any other definition.
>
> That plane with a huge radar thingy attached?
>
> That would be a Nimrod, not a nimrod, I would think.
>
> And isn't it intended to be a submarine hunter?
Submarine hunting was one of its functions.
Mike Barnes
Aug 22, 2012, 5:37:27 PM8/22/12
to
Steve Hayes <haye...@telkomsa.net>:
that was actually a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD). The idea was to
distance it from magnetic components in the aircraft itself.
>That would be a Nimrod, not a nimrod, I would think.
>
>And isn't it intended to be a submarine hunter?
Agreed.
--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England
>On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 18:27:59 +0100, "GordonD" <g.d...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>>"Steve Hayes" <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote in message
>>news:o73a38li4m8psu0ue...@4ax.com...
>>> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>>>
>>>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>>>full.
>>>
>>> A hunter.
>>
>>
>>In the UK it's the name of a patrol aircraft, an heavily modified version of
>>the Comet airliner, which was in service with the RAF from 1969 until 2011.
>>I think most people here would think of that before any other definition.
>
>That plane with a huge radar thingy attached?
If you mean the thingy sticking out on a boom from above the cockpit,
>
>>"Steve Hayes" <haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote in message
>>news:o73a38li4m8psu0ue...@4ax.com...
>>> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>What do people think a nimrod is?
>>>>
>>>>My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>>>dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>>>>around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>>>>and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>>>>ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>>>>full.
>>>
>>> A hunter.
>>
>>
>>In the UK it's the name of a patrol aircraft, an heavily modified version of
>>the Comet airliner, which was in service with the RAF from 1969 until 2011.
>>I think most people here would think of that before any other definition.
>
>That plane with a huge radar thingy attached?
that was actually a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD). The idea was to
distance it from magnetic components in the aircraft itself.
>That would be a Nimrod, not a nimrod, I would think.
>
>And isn't it intended to be a submarine hunter?
--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England
Katy Jennison
Aug 22, 2012, 6:04:16 PM8/22/12
to
the UK.
--
Katy Jennison
Mike L
Aug 22, 2012, 6:14:38 PM8/22/12
to
Note, of course, that the "hunter" usage follows a once-popular
literary convention: "a Diana" would be a huntress, etc.
--
Mike.
Robin Bignall
Aug 22, 2012, 7:22:45 PM8/22/12
to
Noah' derivation.
--
Robin Bignall
(BrE)
Herts, England
Eric Walker
Aug 22, 2012, 7:30:30 PM8/22/12
to
On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky wrote:
> What do people think a nimrod is?
I haven't read the entire response set, so may be duplicating information.
> What do people think a nimrod is?
The word, better used capitalized, means literally or, sometimes,
sarcastically "mighty hunter".
In modern times, it also means a great fool; that is very probably
derived from a conflating with the slang word "nimno" (also "nimnoe").
The popularity of the incorrect form seems to have eclipsed the original
word, which is now seen only occasionally.
One listing states that "A nimno is not just an idiot, but a clueless
buffoon who makes an ass of himself without ever knowing it." That
source suggests that the word is a variation of "nimnul":
The word "nimnul" made its way into English slang through the late
70's sitcom Mork and Mindy. The goofy alien, Mork from Ork, would call
you a nimnul if you were being an idiot.
But I am pretty sure that that is incorrect, and that "nimnul" was
probably derived from the then-more-prevalent "nimno".
--
Cordially,
Eric Walker
Evan Kirshenbaum
Aug 22, 2012, 7:50:56 PM8/22/12
to
1933 B. Hecht & G. Fowler Great Magoo iii. i. 183 He's in love
with her. That makes about the tenth. The same old
Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second.
That could easily have a transferred "hunter" meaning, with women as
Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second.
the prey.
> Note, of course, that the "hunter" usage follows a once-popular
> literary convention: "a Diana" would be a huntress, etc.
--
Still with HP Labs |He who will not reason, is a bigot;
SF Bay Area (1982-) |he who cannot is a fool; and he who
Chicago (1964-1982) |dares not is a slave.
| Sir William Drummond
evan.kir...@gmail.com
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/
Stan Brown
Aug 22, 2012, 8:32:30 PM8/22/12
to
after the biblical Nimrod. But somehow it got cheapened, perhaps by
way of Bugs Bunny's referring to Elmer Fudd as "the little nimrod".
As long ago as the mid-1970s, I remember a co-worker describing
someone as a :nimrrod" where in context that was roughly equivalent
to "twit" or "berk".
--
"The difference between the /almost right/ word and the /right/ word
is ... the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning."
--Mark Twain
Stan Brown, Tompkins County, NY, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com
Irwell
Aug 22, 2012, 10:40:55 PM8/22/12
to
Belw the fuselage.
R H Draney
Aug 23, 2012, 12:33:12 AM8/23/12
to
Mike L filted:
Are you saying that Bugs could have just as easily derided Elmer as "an
Orion"?...r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
Orion"?...r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
Jerry Friedman
Aug 23, 2012, 1:14:34 AM8/23/12
to
On Aug 22, 1:37 pm, t...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
> Horace LaBadie <hwlabadi...@nospam.highstream.net> wrote:
> > In article <vdu938hc0ep0npqorfbb8vsooo3ra4t...@4ax.com>,
> Ben Zimmer gave us the two Jesse Sheidlower citations:
>
> Jesse Sheidlower supplies the following from the Random House Historical
> Dictionary of American Slang:
> ----------
> 1932 Hecht & Fowler _Great Magoo_ 183: He's in love with her. That makes
> about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second.
> 1934 de Leon & Jones _You're Telling Me_ (film): Little too much whip in
> that club, nimrod.
> ----------
> Ben Zimmer added:
>
> Neither citation appears in a context supporting a reading of
> 'hunter', he notes. I see that the 1934 citation is from a W.C. Fields
> movie, and this may have been the immediate inspiration for the Warner
> Bros. writers, just as Abbott & Costello's 1941 movie "Buck Privates"
> may have inspired Bugs' subsequent use of "maroon". Both Fields and
> Abbott/Costello were frequently imitated in the Warner Bros. cartoons
> (see <http://members.aol.com/EOCostello/> for examples). -- Ben
I agree with Evan that the first citation is unconvincing. I'd have
to see the movie of the second one.
> -----
> Second point.
> The final point to add is that "nimrod" was slang for "penis" in the
> late 19th-early 20th century. It was in the 1984 Partridge's (i.e. UK)
> "Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. How many slang words
> for penis or masturbator have gone the route of meaning stupid loser?
Interesting.
> Third point.
> Although people blithely say over and over they remember Warner Brothers
> cartoons with Bugs calling Elmer Fudd a nimrod, it's very hard to prove
> this. There's some evidence it may have involved Daffy Duck or Yosemite
> Sam. In 2000 Evan and I both found an isolated WAV file of Bugs saying:
>
> [Eh or Neh] I couldn't do that to the little nimrod.
>
> but that website and others are no longer working, and even the maker of
> that site had no clue to the year and episode.
That's presumably from this 1951 cartoon, "Rabbit Every Monday",
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjlGRHlWoLA
at 6:50 (referring to Yosemite Sam). It looks like it means "fool".
See also Daffy to Elmer at 5:31 in "What Makes Daffy Duck?" (1948):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPQuh2ZbdtY
That one looks more like "hunter".
Thanks to
http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?threaded=1&v=JhVRL9q8bis&page=1
(Search for "little nimrod".)
--
Jerry Friedman
> Horace LaBadie <hwlabadi...@nospam.highstream.net> wrote:
> > In article <vdu938hc0ep0npqorfbb8vsooo3ra4t...@4ax.com>,
> > micky <NONONOmis...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
> > > What do people think a nimrod is?
>
> > In popular speech, usually a dope. That meaning seems to have originated
> > with Chuck Jones. Bugs Bunny calls Elmer Fudd a "poor little Nimrod,"
> > mocking his hunting skills.
>
> First point.
> Not originated, although you'll find this claim in many places. The AUE
> FAQ points out the the slang meaning of "stupid person" is found earlier
> than Bugs Bunny. The AUE FAQ entry begins with the Biblical figure, and
> then says:
>
> ---------------http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxnimrod.html
>
> > > What do people think a nimrod is?
>
> > In popular speech, usually a dope. That meaning seems to have originated
> > with Chuck Jones. Bugs Bunny calls Elmer Fudd a "poor little Nimrod,"
> > mocking his hunting skills.
>
> First point.
> Not originated, although you'll find this claim in many places. The AUE
> FAQ points out the the slang meaning of "stupid person" is found earlier
> than Bugs Bunny. The AUE FAQ entry begins with the Biblical figure, and
> then says:
>
> ... In contemporary U.S. slang, "nimrod" means "fool, numbskull".
> Rex Knepp ingeniously suggested that the origin of this was Bugs
> Bunny's taunt of Elmer Fudd: "So long, Nimrod." Unfortunately for
> this theory, Jesse Sheidlower says that Random House has two
> citations of "nimrod" = "numbskull" from the 1930s, before the Bugs
> Bunny episode containing the taunt.
Thanks, I should have remembered that.
> Rex Knepp ingeniously suggested that the origin of this was Bugs
> Bunny's taunt of Elmer Fudd: "So long, Nimrod." Unfortunately for
> this theory, Jesse Sheidlower says that Random House has two
> citations of "nimrod" = "numbskull" from the 1930s, before the Bugs
> Bunny episode containing the taunt.
> Ben Zimmer gave us the two Jesse Sheidlower citations:
>
> Jesse Sheidlower supplies the following from the Random House Historical
> Dictionary of American Slang:
> ----------
> 1932 Hecht & Fowler _Great Magoo_ 183: He's in love with her. That makes
> about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second.
> 1934 de Leon & Jones _You're Telling Me_ (film): Little too much whip in
> that club, nimrod.
> ----------
> Ben Zimmer added:
>
> Neither citation appears in a context supporting a reading of
> 'hunter', he notes. I see that the 1934 citation is from a W.C. Fields
> movie, and this may have been the immediate inspiration for the Warner
> Bros. writers, just as Abbott & Costello's 1941 movie "Buck Privates"
> may have inspired Bugs' subsequent use of "maroon". Both Fields and
> Abbott/Costello were frequently imitated in the Warner Bros. cartoons
> (see <http://members.aol.com/EOCostello/> for examples). -- Ben
to see the movie of the second one.
> -----
> Second point.
> The final point to add is that "nimrod" was slang for "penis" in the
> late 19th-early 20th century. It was in the 1984 Partridge's (i.e. UK)
> "Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. How many slang words
> for penis or masturbator have gone the route of meaning stupid loser?
> Third point.
> Although people blithely say over and over they remember Warner Brothers
> cartoons with Bugs calling Elmer Fudd a nimrod, it's very hard to prove
> this. There's some evidence it may have involved Daffy Duck or Yosemite
> Sam. In 2000 Evan and I both found an isolated WAV file of Bugs saying:
>
> [Eh or Neh] I couldn't do that to the little nimrod.
>
> but that website and others are no longer working, and even the maker of
> that site had no clue to the year and episode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjlGRHlWoLA
at 6:50 (referring to Yosemite Sam). It looks like it means "fool".
See also Daffy to Elmer at 5:31 in "What Makes Daffy Duck?" (1948):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPQuh2ZbdtY
That one looks more like "hunter".
Thanks to
http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?threaded=1&v=JhVRL9q8bis&page=1
(Search for "little nimrod".)
--
Jerry Friedman
Peter Moylan
Aug 23, 2012, 1:24:27 AM8/23/12
to
popular, at least in my part of the world.)
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted
Eric Walker
Aug 23, 2012, 4:08:00 AM8/23/12
to
established term given a slight twist to be "Orkan". "Nimno" has, I
feel, been around an awfully long time, though I haven't researched it.
--
Cordially,
Eric Walker
R H Draney
Aug 23, 2012, 4:24:45 AM8/23/12
to
Lewis filted:
>
>This is all complicated by the fact that many of these cartoons have
>been heavily bowdlerized and are difficult, if not impossible, to find
>in their original forms. Some have never been re-released on video or
>DVD because they feature too much racist content to be excised.
Actually, out of slightly over a thousand Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes
cartoons, collectors speak of "the Censored Eleven", and I believe at least one
of those was for reasons other than racist stereotypes (a character experiences
a gruesome death or one is strongly implied)....r
>
>This is all complicated by the fact that many of these cartoons have
>been heavily bowdlerized and are difficult, if not impossible, to find
>in their original forms. Some have never been re-released on video or
>DVD because they feature too much racist content to be excised.
Actually, out of slightly over a thousand Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes
cartoons, collectors speak of "the Censored Eleven", and I believe at least one
of those was for reasons other than racist stereotypes (a character experiences
a gruesome death or one is strongly implied)....r
Message has been deleted
Donna Richoux
Aug 23, 2012, 6:19:03 AM8/23/12
to
Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
> In message <1kp8ym9.1ohh6ugfyp9keN%tr...@euronet.nl>
> Donna Richoux <tr...@euronet.nl> wrote:
[lotsa snip]
> > Jesse Sheidlower supplies the following from the Random House Historical
> > Dictionary of American Slang:
> > ----------
> > 1932 Hecht & Fowler _Great Magoo_ 183: He's in love with her. That makes
> > about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second.
> > 1934 de Leon & Jones _You're Telling Me_ (film): Little too much whip in
> > that club, nimrod.
>
> I don't see how either of those imply fool. The first is clearly using
> it as a hunter/predator who's set his sights on a new woman, and the
> second could be; there's not enough context.
Jerry also mentioned "unconvincing" in his reply. Early citations don't
have to be *convincing* and *self-evident*. They just have to be early.
Tons and tons of early citations are in the form "He was very foo" or
"That was foo." Those lines themselves don't give you a clue as to what
"foo" means. Very few uses of words, early or not, are in sentences that
define them. Dictionaries are prevented by space limitations from
providing a backstory.
No, you have to trust that the lexicographer was not an idiot or a
fraud. If Jesse Sheidlower noted that a word was used a particular way,
I am very inclined to believe him. He's a foo sort of guy.
By the way, about the 1932 citaton, the guy was on his tenth love. I
don't know the shade of meaning of the Partridge definition of nimrod =
penis, but if it meant a guy who was habitually, foolishly attracted to
women, that could apply.
> In message <1kp8ym9.1ohh6ugfyp9keN%tr...@euronet.nl>
> Donna Richoux <tr...@euronet.nl> wrote:
[lotsa snip]
> > Jesse Sheidlower supplies the following from the Random House Historical
> > Dictionary of American Slang:
> > ----------
> > 1932 Hecht & Fowler _Great Magoo_ 183: He's in love with her. That makes
> > about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second.
> > 1934 de Leon & Jones _You're Telling Me_ (film): Little too much whip in
> > that club, nimrod.
>
> it as a hunter/predator who's set his sights on a new woman, and the
> second could be; there's not enough context.
Jerry also mentioned "unconvincing" in his reply. Early citations don't
have to be *convincing* and *self-evident*. They just have to be early.
Tons and tons of early citations are in the form "He was very foo" or
"That was foo." Those lines themselves don't give you a clue as to what
"foo" means. Very few uses of words, early or not, are in sentences that
define them. Dictionaries are prevented by space limitations from
providing a backstory.
No, you have to trust that the lexicographer was not an idiot or a
fraud. If Jesse Sheidlower noted that a word was used a particular way,
I am very inclined to believe him. He's a foo sort of guy.
By the way, about the 1932 citaton, the guy was on his tenth love. I
don't know the shade of meaning of the Partridge definition of nimrod =
penis, but if it meant a guy who was habitually, foolishly attracted to
women, that could apply.
Donna Richoux
Aug 23, 2012, 6:19:04 AM8/23/12
to
comes up.
The lines from the 1951 cartoon:
[Bugs tricks Yosemite Sam into climbing into a stove]
BB: Imagine him falling for a gag like that. I'l warm up the party a
little for him. [Reaches for wood, but stops.] Neh, I couldn't do that
to the little Nimrod.
>
> See also Daffy to Elmer at 5:31 in "What Makes Daffy Duck?" (1948):
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPQuh2ZbdtY
>
> That one looks more like "hunter".
From the 1948 cartoon:
> See also Daffy to Elmer at 5:31 in "What Makes Daffy Duck?" (1948):
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPQuh2ZbdtY
>
> That one looks more like "hunter".
Elmer Fudd: How am I ever going to catch that screwy duck?
Daffy Duck: Precisely what I was wondering, my little Nimrod.
Jerry Friedman
Aug 23, 2012, 10:19:10 AM8/23/12
to
On Aug 22, 11:14 pm, Jerry Friedman <jerry_fried...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Aug 22, 1:37 pm, t...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
...
> On Aug 22, 1:37 pm, t...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
> > In 2000 Evan and I both found an isolated WAV file of Bugs saying:
>
> > [Eh or Neh] I couldn't do that to the littlenimrod.
>
> > but that website and others are no longer working, and even the maker of
> > that site had no clue to the year and episode.
>
> That's presumably from this 1951 cartoon, "Rabbit Every Monday",
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjlGRHlWoLA
>
> at 6:50 (referring to Yosemite Sam). It looks like it means "fool".
Actually, Sam is a hunter, as you can see when he comes in around
1:05.
--
Jerry Friedman forgets the trick for making a URL link to a time in a
YouTube video.
Horace LaBadie
Aug 23, 2012, 1:21:45 PM8/23/12
to
In article
<3b2ea104-3945-407c...@i13g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>,
Jerry Friedman <jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Aug 22, 11:14�pm, Jerry Friedman <jerry fried...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > On Aug 22, 1:37�pm, t...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
> ...
>
> > > In 2000 Evan and I both found an isolated WAV file of Bugs saying:
> >
> > > � � [Eh or Neh] I couldn't do that to the littlenimrod.
> >
> > > but that website and others are no longer working, and even the maker of
> > > that site had no clue to the year and episode.
> >
> > That's presumably from this 1951 cartoon, "Rabbit Every Monday",
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjlGRHlWoLA
> >
> > at 6:50 (referring to Yosemite Sam). �It looks like it means "fool".
> ...
>
> Actually, Sam is a hunter, as you can see when he comes in around
> 1:05.
>
> --
Sam is more prospector/cowpoke/gunslinger.
<3b2ea104-3945-407c...@i13g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>,
Jerry Friedman <jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Aug 22, 11:14�pm, Jerry Friedman <jerry fried...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > On Aug 22, 1:37�pm, t...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
> ...
>
> > > In 2000 Evan and I both found an isolated WAV file of Bugs saying:
> >
> > > � � [Eh or Neh] I couldn't do that to the littlenimrod.
> >
> > > but that website and others are no longer working, and even the maker of
> > > that site had no clue to the year and episode.
> >
> > That's presumably from this 1951 cartoon, "Rabbit Every Monday",
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjlGRHlWoLA
> >
> > at 6:50 (referring to Yosemite Sam). �It looks like it means "fool".
> ...
>
> Actually, Sam is a hunter, as you can see when he comes in around
> 1:05.
>
> --
Jerry Friedman
Aug 23, 2012, 1:40:25 PM8/23/12
to
On Aug 23, 11:21 am, Horace LaBadie
<hwlabadi...@nospam.highstream.net> wrote:
> In article
> <3b2ea104-3945-407c-bd8f-3562210b4...@i13g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>,
I should have said Sam was a hunter in that cartoon. If you watch the
part I mentioned, you'll see he's stalking around with a gun looking
for rabbits, just like Elmer Fudd.
--
Jerry Friedman
<hwlabadi...@nospam.highstream.net> wrote:
> In article
> <3b2ea104-3945-407c-bd8f-3562210b4...@i13g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>,
part I mentioned, you'll see he's stalking around with a gun looking
for rabbits, just like Elmer Fudd.
--
Jerry Friedman
Mike L
Aug 23, 2012, 5:19:58 PM8/23/12
to
On 22 Aug 2012 21:33:12 -0700, R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>
wrote:
These days, probably. But back then, Real Americans knew their Bible,
hallelujah!
--
Mike.
wrote:
hallelujah!
--
Mike.
Jerry Friedman
Aug 23, 2012, 5:30:49 PM8/23/12
to
On Aug 23, 3:19 pm, Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> On 22 Aug 2012 21:33:12 -0700, R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net>
> wrote:
> >Mike L filted:
...
> >>Note, of course, that the "hunter" usage follows a once-popular
> >>literary convention: "a Diana" would be a huntress, etc.
>
> >Are you saying that Bugs could have just as easily derided Elmer as "an
> >Orion"?...r
As I was looking at Looney Tunes last night (before I found the right
search), I saw one where Daffy addressed Elmer as "Leatherstocking".
> These days, probably. But back then, Real Americans knew their Bible,
> hallelujah!
I wonder whether there's any way to compare the level of Bible
knowledge in America then and now. Of course, a lot depends on the
definition of Real.
--
Jerry Friedman
> On 22 Aug 2012 21:33:12 -0700, R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net>
> wrote:
> >Mike L filted:
...
> >>Note, of course, that the "hunter" usage follows a once-popular
> >>literary convention: "a Diana" would be a huntress, etc.
>
> >Are you saying that Bugs could have just as easily derided Elmer as "an
> >Orion"?...r
search), I saw one where Daffy addressed Elmer as "Leatherstocking".
> These days, probably. But back then, Real Americans knew their Bible,
> hallelujah!
knowledge in America then and now. Of course, a lot depends on the
definition of Real.
--
Jerry Friedman
micky
Aug 23, 2012, 11:35:00 PM8/23/12
to
be wrong though. I only took Orkian in summer school and got a C-.
Mike L
Aug 24, 2012, 4:48:33 PM8/24/12
to
On the comparison, I imagine Church and Synagogue attendance would
provide a hint. School syllabuses, too.
--
Mike.
Charles Bishop
Aug 24, 2012, 6:10:19 PM8/24/12
to
In article <1kpa4mk.h678wpberub6N%tr...@euronet.nl>, tr...@euronet.nl (Donna
Definitely "hunter" but Daffy is mocking him at the same time.
--
charles
--
charles
Jerry Friedman
Aug 24, 2012, 6:05:03 PM8/24/12
to
On Aug 24, 2:48 pm, Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:30:49 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Friedman
> <jerry_fried...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >On Aug 23, 3:19 pm, Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> >> On 22 Aug 2012 21:33:12 -0700, R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net>
> >> wrote:
> >> >Mike L filted:
> >...
>
> >> >>Note, of course, that the "hunter" usage follows a once-popular
> >> >>literary convention: "a Diana" would be a huntress, etc.
>
> >> >Are you saying that Bugs could have just as easily derided Elmer as "an
> >> >Orion"?...r
...
> On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:30:49 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Friedman
> <jerry_fried...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >On Aug 23, 3:19 pm, Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> >> On 22 Aug 2012 21:33:12 -0700, R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net>
> >> wrote:
> >> >Mike L filted:
> >...
>
> >> >>Note, of course, that the "hunter" usage follows a once-popular
> >> >>literary convention: "a Diana" would be a huntress, etc.
>
> >> >Are you saying that Bugs could have just as easily derided Elmer as "an
> >> >Orion"?...r
> >> These days, probably. But back then, Real Americans knew their Bible,
> >> hallelujah!
>
> >I wonder whether there's any way to compare the level of Bible
> >knowledge in America then and now. Of course, a lot depends on the
> >definition of Real.
>
> Aymen, brother!
>
> On the comparison, I imagine Church and Synagogue attendance would
> provide a hint.
Catholic attendance has fallen, according to this review of Gallup
polls:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/117382/church-going-among-catholics-slides-tie-protestants.aspx
(The number of Americans attending synagogues is probably not
statistically significant.)
> School syllabuses, too.
That one would be tougher. However, I feel sure that far more
children attend "Christian" or sectarian Protestant schools than did
back then. And Vacation Bible School--yippee!
--
Jerry Friedman
micky
Aug 24, 2012, 6:44:49 PM8/24/12
to
Well, sometimes.
R H Draney
Aug 24, 2012, 7:26:54 PM8/24/12
to
Jerry Friedman filted:
for children depends upon offerings of dry macaroni Elmer's-glued to paper
plates and spray-painted gold....r
>
>That one would be tougher. However, I feel sure that far more
>children attend "Christian" or sectarian Protestant schools than did
>back then. And Vacation Bible School--yippee!
Ah, VBS, where the lesson is instilled in young religious minds that God's plan
>That one would be tougher. However, I feel sure that far more
>children attend "Christian" or sectarian Protestant schools than did
>back then. And Vacation Bible School--yippee!
for children depends upon offerings of dry macaroni Elmer's-glued to paper
plates and spray-painted gold....r
Cheryl
Aug 25, 2012, 8:10:31 AM8/25/12
to
education they favour. I had a fairly standard level of religious
education for the time and place I was raised, and came out of it
without the faintest knowledge of who Nimrod was. Anything more than the
Children's Version of the better-known Bible stories, I picked up on my
own. At that time, there were denominations that made much more of an
effort to ensure that children had more Biblical literacy than that -
and I suspect that's reduced in the years since.
Although possibly not in the US, but I'm not sure about that.
--
Cheryl
Stan Brown
Aug 25, 2012, 9:12:57 AM8/25/12
to
On Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:44:49 -0400, micky wrote:
>
> I'm opposed to school bussing.
Well, of course. You'd get brick dust on your lips.
>
> I'm opposed to school bussing.
Chris Malcolm
Oct 12, 2012, 6:52:51 PM10/12/12
to
Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
> In message <vdu938hc0ep0npqor...@4ax.com>
> Nimrod was a great hunter from the Bible. He was also king of something
> or other and.. well, I think he's in Genesis if you want to look him up.
>> My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>> dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>> around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>> and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>> ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>> full.
> The story with nimrod is that *now* it means "A moron. an idiot. A goofy
> or comical figure." and the reason for this is Tex Avery and Bugs Bunny.
> In a cartoon featuring Elmer Fudd and Bugs, where Elmer was the hapless
> hunter, Bugs refers to him with the phrase, "Look at the little nimrod"
> and since then, nimrod has been associated with the sort of hapless
> stupidity that defined ELmer Fudd's personality.
> Bugs often referred to Fudd as "A maroon" (moron) also, so equating
> nimrod and moron seemed perfectly reasonable.
I prefer to think that "maroon" is a French-Canadian derivation from
the French "marron", urban gangster slang for someone so temptingly
clueless that they attract disasters like rotten apples attract
wasps. "Maroon" is an anglicised pronunciation of the French "marron".
--
Chris Malcolm
> In message <vdu938hc0ep0npqor...@4ax.com>
> Nimrod was a great hunter from the Bible. He was also king of something
> or other and.. well, I think he's in Genesis if you want to look him up.
>> My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>> dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>> around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>> and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>> ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>> full.
> or comical figure." and the reason for this is Tex Avery and Bugs Bunny.
> In a cartoon featuring Elmer Fudd and Bugs, where Elmer was the hapless
> hunter, Bugs refers to him with the phrase, "Look at the little nimrod"
> and since then, nimrod has been associated with the sort of hapless
> stupidity that defined ELmer Fudd's personality.
> Bugs often referred to Fudd as "A maroon" (moron) also, so equating
> nimrod and moron seemed perfectly reasonable.
I prefer to think that "maroon" is a French-Canadian derivation from
the French "marron", urban gangster slang for someone so temptingly
clueless that they attract disasters like rotten apples attract
wasps. "Maroon" is an anglicised pronunciation of the French "marron".
--
Chris Malcolm
Robert Bannister
Oct 13, 2012, 9:51:32 PM10/13/12
to
--
Robert Bannister
Mike L
Oct 14, 2012, 6:07:13 PM10/14/12
to
On Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:51:32 +0800, Robert Bannister
<rob...@clubtelco.com> wrote:
>On 13/10/12 6:52 AM, Chris Malcolm wrote:
>> Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
>[...]
<rob...@clubtelco.com> wrote:
>On 13/10/12 6:52 AM, Chris Malcolm wrote:
>> Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
>>
>>> Bugs often referred to Fudd as "A maroon" (moron) also, so equating
>>> nimrod and moron seemed perfectly reasonable.
>>
>> I prefer to think that "maroon" is a French-Canadian derivation from
>> the French "marron", urban gangster slang for someone so temptingly
>> clueless that they attract disasters like rotten apples attract
>> wasps. "Maroon" is an anglicised pronunciation of the French "marron".
>>
>
>The colour rhymes with "alone" in Australia.
I'd forgotten that. I had to unlearn it.
>>> Bugs often referred to Fudd as "A maroon" (moron) also, so equating
>>> nimrod and moron seemed perfectly reasonable.
>>
>> I prefer to think that "maroon" is a French-Canadian derivation from
>> the French "marron", urban gangster slang for someone so temptingly
>> clueless that they attract disasters like rotten apples attract
>> wasps. "Maroon" is an anglicised pronunciation of the French "marron".
>>
>
>The colour rhymes with "alone" in Australia.
--
Mike.
GordonD
Oct 15, 2012, 12:18:00 PM10/15/12
to
"Robert Bannister" <rob...@clubtelco.com> wrote in message
news:aduk55...@mid.individual.net...
And in Scotland. The joke is that it's dangerous to pronounce it the other
way, especially in a pub, as it would sound like an offer to buy a round of
drinks.
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland
"Slipped the surly bonds of Earth...to touch the face of God."
news:aduk55...@mid.individual.net...
way, especially in a pub, as it would sound like an offer to buy a round of
drinks.
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland
"Slipped the surly bonds of Earth...to touch the face of God."
Robert Bannister
Oct 16, 2012, 11:29:24 PM10/16/12
to
--
Robert Bannister
micky
Oct 19, 2014, 9:39:58 PM10/19/14
to
On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 09:12:31 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Friedman
<jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Aug 22, 10:05 am, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <m...@peterduncanson.net>
>wrote:
>> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONOmis...@bigfoot.com>
>>
>> 1. A hunter.
>>
>> 2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
>>
>> http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nimrod
>>
>> Nim rod
>> 1 : a descendant of Ham represented in Genesis as a mighty hunter
>> and a king of Shinar
>> 2 not capitalized : hunter
>> 3 not capitalized slang : idiot, jerk
order to shoot Bugs, and Bugs was being sarcastic about his hunting
ability. But children thought Bugs was being insulting about his
brains or character.
That's fantastic. What a great reason.
Sorry it took so long to answer. I probably couldn't decide what to
say.
Your Baltimore/Randallstown correspondent
--
Please say where you live, or what
area's English you are asking about.
So your question or answer makes sense.
. .
I have lived all my life in the USA,
Western Pa. Indianapolis, Chicago,
Brooklyn, Baltimore.
<jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Aug 22, 10:05 am, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <m...@peterduncanson.net>
>wrote:
>> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:28:03 -0400, micky <NONONOmis...@bigfoot.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >What do people think a nimrod is?
>>
>>
>> >What do people think a nimrod is?
>>
>> >My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>> >dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>> >around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>> >and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>> >ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>> >full.
>>
>> There seem to be two meanings of "nimrod" (small n) in American English.http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/nimrod
>> >dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words running
>> >around where the public has an incorrect impression of the meaning,
>> >and I wonder if nimrod is another one. For example, a couple days
>> >ago I heard a Congressman refer to something as fulsome, when he meant
>> >full.
>>
>>
>> 1. A hunter.
>>
>> 2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
>>
>> http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nimrod
>>
>> Nim rod
>> 1 : a descendant of Ham represented in Genesis as a mighty hunter
>> and a king of Shinar
>> 2 not capitalized : hunter
>> 3 not capitalized slang : idiot, jerk
>
>If I'm not mistaken, the meaning "idiot" comes from a cartoon where
>Bugs Bunny addresses Elmer Fudd as "Nimrod", misinterpreted by
>generations of children.
That is, Elmer was carryiing a rifle or shotgun like he usually did, in
>If I'm not mistaken, the meaning "idiot" comes from a cartoon where
>Bugs Bunny addresses Elmer Fudd as "Nimrod", misinterpreted by
>generations of children.
order to shoot Bugs, and Bugs was being sarcastic about his hunting
ability. But children thought Bugs was being insulting about his
brains or character.
That's fantastic. What a great reason.
Sorry it took so long to answer. I probably couldn't decide what to
say.
Your Baltimore/Randallstown correspondent
--
Please say where you live, or what
area's English you are asking about.
So your question or answer makes sense.
. .
I have lived all my life in the USA,
Western Pa. Indianapolis, Chicago,
Brooklyn, Baltimore.
Jerry Friedman
Oct 20, 2014, 12:05:59 AM10/20/14
to
> Your Baltimore/Randallstown correspondent
I trust you've read the rest of the thread and know I had to correct
myself. Daffy Duck said it to Elmer, and Bugs said it to Yosemite Sam
when Sam was hunting.
I'll note in passing that Mike Lyle briefly mentioned the topic of
whether the Bible is taught in American schools.
--
Jerry Friedman
Don Phillipson
Oct 20, 2014, 9:34:29 AM10/20/14
to
"micky" <NONONO...@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:ikp84a9esirnf0o6o...@4ax.com...
>>> >What do people think a nimrod is?
>>>
>>> >My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>> >dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words
Its origins are in fact quite suggestive, about both how words
enter the language and about the cultural seedbed of language
from which new words emerge.
As posted, the Bible mentions a single person called Nimrod, a
king or tribal chief in Syria. This comes in a genealogy of he
descendants of Noah (after the Flood) in Genesis chap. 10, which
says simply:
"And Cush begat Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in
the earth.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord, wherefore it is said,
'Even as Nimrod, he mighty hunter before the Lord."
That is all, except for two simple mentions of the name elsewhere
(in Chronicles and the prophet Micah:) but obviously the name
Nimrod became an earworm in the early centuries of the English
language (especially when the early Protestant church (1) required
everyone to attend church every Sunday, (2) read the whole of
the Bible aloud every year (in daily church services, completing
the Old Testament once and the shorter New Testament twice.)
So Nimrod became an earworm and nimrod=hunter was a
part of the language at least by the 19th century.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
news:ikp84a9esirnf0o6o...@4ax.com...
>>> >What do people think a nimrod is?
>>>
>>> >My understanding of the word has nothing in common with what the
>>> >dictionary says. It seems to me I remember a couple of words
enter the language and about the cultural seedbed of language
from which new words emerge.
As posted, the Bible mentions a single person called Nimrod, a
king or tribal chief in Syria. This comes in a genealogy of he
descendants of Noah (after the Flood) in Genesis chap. 10, which
says simply:
"And Cush begat Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in
the earth.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord, wherefore it is said,
'Even as Nimrod, he mighty hunter before the Lord."
That is all, except for two simple mentions of the name elsewhere
(in Chronicles and the prophet Micah:) but obviously the name
Nimrod became an earworm in the early centuries of the English
language (especially when the early Protestant church (1) required
everyone to attend church every Sunday, (2) read the whole of
the Bible aloud every year (in daily church services, completing
the Old Testament once and the shorter New Testament twice.)
So Nimrod became an earworm and nimrod=hunter was a
part of the language at least by the 19th century.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
Steve Hayes
Oct 20, 2014, 10:48:38 AM10/20/14
to
On Mon, 20 Oct 2014 09:34:29 -0400, "Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca>
wrote:
Right.
There's a fellow by the name of Nimrod, he was a mighty hunter.
Everybody knows what Nimrod did.
You say "What did Nimrod do?"
"He was a mighty hunter."
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
wrote:
There's a fellow by the name of Nimrod, he was a mighty hunter.
Everybody knows what Nimrod did.
You say "What did Nimrod do?"
"He was a mighty hunter."
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Peter Young
Oct 20, 2014, 12:15:04 PM10/20/14
to
Variations) as Jaeger is German for Hunter.
Peter.
--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist) (AUE Re)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk
Charles Bishop
Oct 20, 2014, 11:37:12 AM10/20/14
to
In article <m23329$do4$2...@news.albasani.net>,
In another thread here, dealing with barbed wire, there is a quote from
the late 1800s that mentions Nimrod as hunter.
--
charles
the late 1800s that mentions Nimrod as hunter.
--
charles
Peter T. Daniels
Oct 20, 2014, 1:55:53 PM10/20/14
to
Adam and Noah, but I met "Nimrod, the mighty hunter" only in Britten's
"Rejoice in the Lamb," from Christopher Smart's mad epic.
micky
Oct 21, 2014, 1:22:29 PM10/21/14
to
On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 22:05:59 -0600, Jerry Friedman
Thanks for the correction. I read the rest of the thread 2 years ago,
but forgot this detail until just now. I sent email copies of my post
to 5 friends I thought would like the story , so now I have to write
them again!! No problem.
> Daffy Duck said it to Elmer, and Bugs said it to Yosemite Sam
>when Sam was hunting.
Yeah, Sam carries a gun more than Elmer does.
but forgot this detail until just now. I sent email copies of my post
to 5 friends I thought would like the story , so now I have to write
them again!! No problem.
> Daffy Duck said it to Elmer, and Bugs said it to Yosemite Sam
>when Sam was hunting.
>
>I'll note in passing that Mike Lyle briefly mentioned the topic of
>whether the Bible is taught in American schools.
--
>I'll note in passing that Mike Lyle briefly mentioned the topic of
>whether the Bible is taught in American schools.
--
Charles Bishop
Oct 21, 2014, 4:02:35 PM10/21/14
to
In article <b1eb4apa7ah0lifr1...@4ax.com>,
I don't think it was Daffy. A list of quotes said for various characters
has Bugs saying it, not Daffy.
> Yeah, Sam carries a gun more than Elmer does.
> >
> >I'll note in passing that Mike Lyle briefly mentioned the topic of
> >whether the Bible is taught in American schools.
--
charles
has Bugs saying it, not Daffy.
> Yeah, Sam carries a gun more than Elmer does.
> >
> >I'll note in passing that Mike Lyle briefly mentioned the topic of
> >whether the Bible is taught in American schools.
--
Jerry Friedman
Oct 24, 2014, 11:36:17 PM10/24/14
to
On 10/21/14 2:02 PM, Charles Bishop wrote:
> In article <b1eb4apa7ah0lifr1...@4ax.com>,
> micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 22:05:59 -0600, Jerry Friedman
>> <jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
...
> In article <b1eb4apa7ah0lifr1...@4ax.com>,
> micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 22:05:59 -0600, Jerry Friedman
>> <jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> Daffy Duck said it to Elmer, and Bugs said it to Yosemite Sam
>>> when Sam was hunting.
>>
>
> I don't think it was Daffy. A list of quotes said for various characters
> has Bugs saying it, not Daffy.
YouTube, but Daffy apparently isn't on YouTube any more.
--
Jerry Friedman
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