[a veritable exemplar of depravity]
the word for today, boys and girls, is none other than powder-monkeys.
aye, powder-monkeys.
this from A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew, in its several Tribes of Gypsies, Beggers, Thieves, Cheats &c., with An Addition of some Proverbs, Phrases, Figurative Speeches &c. : Useful for all sorts of People (especially Foreigners) to secure their Money and preserve their Lives ; besides very Diverting and Entertaining being wholly New. by B.E. Gent. (1699):
Powder-monkeys, Boys planted at the Guns a Bord the Ship, to fetch Gun-powder, &c. in the Engagement.
good to see that three-hundred years hasn't changed the use of monkey to refer to children and persons employed in mindless, menial work, though i must say that 'corporate butt-monkey' was an entirely new one by me. also good to know that my university education is amounting to something. only a week ago, i would have never conceived of the phrase.
this dictionary, while sadly not among my personal horde, has proved to be an absolute delight. i spent a good part of my pre-class morning (not doing homework) reading it and frequently enjoying colorful words and phrases which have unfortunately dropped from the lexicon. the words 'fellow,' 'wench,' or 'whore' appeared at least on every page. they seemed to have much more specific and precise words back then as well, including different words for copulation between various animal species. if a fox and a vixen (important distinction - one we've also largely lost) were going at it, it was one word, if it was a boar and sow, another, and for rabbits, yet another. there was also none of this impartiality that dictionary editors have taken (or tried to take) in more recent years. take for example fussocks, the definition of which is a lazy fat-ars'd wench. if that doesn't arouse a smile in me, i may as well give up.
it was also quite fascinating to see that some things haven't changed at all, especially idiomatic phrases, though i can't think of any examples at the moment. thankfully, schooled as a verb meaning something along the lines of 'beaten' hasn't risen above slang status in all this time. young people be warned: Gypsies, Beggers, Thieves, Cheats &c.
[your sauce-pan most certainly runs over]
aye, powder-monkeys.
this from A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew, in its several Tribes of Gypsies, Beggers, Thieves, Cheats &c., with An Addition of some Proverbs, Phrases, Figurative Speeches &c. : Useful for all sorts of People (especially Foreigners) to secure their Money and preserve their Lives ; besides very Diverting and Entertaining being wholly New. by B.E. Gent. (1699):
Powder-monkeys, Boys planted at the Guns a Bord the Ship, to fetch Gun-powder, &c. in the Engagement.
good to see that three-hundred years hasn't changed the use of monkey to refer to children and persons employed in mindless, menial work, though i must say that 'corporate butt-monkey' was an entirely new one by me. also good to know that my university education is amounting to something. only a week ago, i would have never conceived of the phrase.
this dictionary, while sadly not among my personal horde, has proved to be an absolute delight. i spent a good part of my pre-class morning (not doing homework) reading it and frequently enjoying colorful words and phrases which have unfortunately dropped from the lexicon. the words 'fellow,' 'wench,' or 'whore' appeared at least on every page. they seemed to have much more specific and precise words back then as well, including different words for copulation between various animal species. if a fox and a vixen (important distinction - one we've also largely lost) were going at it, it was one word, if it was a boar and sow, another, and for rabbits, yet another. there was also none of this impartiality that dictionary editors have taken (or tried to take) in more recent years. take for example fussocks, the definition of which is a lazy fat-ars'd wench. if that doesn't arouse a smile in me, i may as well give up.
it was also quite fascinating to see that some things haven't changed at all, especially idiomatic phrases, though i can't think of any examples at the moment. thankfully, schooled as a verb meaning something along the lines of 'beaten' hasn't risen above slang status in all this time. young people be warned: Gypsies, Beggers, Thieves, Cheats &c.
[your sauce-pan most certainly runs over]