h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

all right... ive got a question for the learned' minds of the british english thread...

where does the phrase "sticky wicket" come from? i assume some cricket connection, but not totally sure....

(As a non-Brit, non-cricket player), I remember Trinidadian and Jamaican players (at Uni) telling me it was something Brits did involving a glue like substance to keep the wicket from falling. The point of the bowler is to bowl past the batter and knock down the wicket. Harder to do when it's sticky.

And I was serious about asking if vulgar was from Bulgar ..anyone?

In cricket a wicket used to refer solely to the stumps and bails, but by extension referred also to the pitch between the stumps, and it is this that sticky wicket refers to. A sticky wicket is a damp pitch, and presents a problem for the batsman not the bowler, as a soft surface yields uneven bounce.

Vulgar almost certainly isn't related to Bulgar, as it comes from the Latin vulgaris, an adjective which in turn comes from vulgus meaning the common people, which doesn't have quite the same pejorative sense as the modern English word.

To you then, this thesis, submitting I am: The Romans named Vulgaria.
It being a land full of vulgar common peoples through which, from time to time, the legions marched. Though wouldn't they have spelled it vvlgaria? The V/B transposition would have two millenia to take hold.

Thanks for the clarification on damp pitches. I'll know better than to drink rum with Caribbeans in future. Or at least be more aware of their anti-British attitudes.

thanks mycroft even with my dubious grasp of cricket, i think i get it...

Having briefly checked, your thesis doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Vulgus was coined almost two millenia before Bulgarus, and Bulgarus is itself ultimately derived from a Turkish word - bulgamaq - meaning to mix, in (pejorative) recognition of the somewhat genetically disparate make-up of the Bulgar people.

That's interesting. Both explanations. I am pleased with myself because I had also intuitively assumed that the phrase "sticky wicket" was from the batsman's point of view, although seeing it from the fielding side does make more sense.

On reflection, I could have made things clearer more quickly if I'd said that the full phrase is "batting on a sticky wicket"

There are so many questions still unanswered, I'm sure.

Anyone know the etymology - real or imaginary - for "gumption"? Wasn't it a trade name for something? Which came first, the trade name or the everyday meaning?

I have an 18th century reference in the sense of common sense, so that was probably older than the trade name.Likewise vim is early 19th century (possibly cod Latin)Elbow grease seems to be a couple of hundred years earlier (I'm possibly the only person on this thread that associates these 3 terms?)
I seem to remember "rum gumption"in Yorkshire 40 years ago, but that might have been a family special

You're not alone Wandrin' . My family used those 3 terms too (though not the last wonderful phrase )

Gumption.
A bit of nous.
Using your nelly.

Some words and phrases for having some common sense that I've heard.

Savvy

I would have said gumption was American. But it would mean 'courage' or 'audacity', traits much admired by Americans. It took a lot of gumption to enter those dark virgin forests.

Rum gumption would be like dutch courage. The Americans had forest gumption.

jwf

I actually use a product (or a procuct line) called Gumption to clean the Kitchen/Bathroom - it seems to be similar to Flash - but aimed more at the "professional" cleaners market....

Back to B*****y....

I heard tell a tale that the Four Letter Fricative that Footballers are fond of originally meant the same as B****r, that the word was an acronym for "Forced Unusual Carnal Knowledge", any thoughts?

If you haven't seen the h2g2 Front Page today check out:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A6402072

and also there-in, find a link to the BBC's "Routes of English" page with games, crosswords, balloons and all sorts.

We return you now to our regularly scheduled discussion.

*curses the coming Full Moon and the Day of the Dead*

Hmmm... that link grew an extra digit somehow...

Should be:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A640207

This could be a tricky one for the moderators to deal with...

Argon0, the etymology of footballers' favourite expletive is far from clear, but is sufficiently clear to show that the notion that it's an acronym (usually 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge') is merely folk etymology and has no basis in fact. While the first recorded instance of its written use is in 1506, it's a far older word than that even in English: a John le F**cker was around in 1278. It's roots are definitely Germanic, and it probably came to English (probably in Scotland first) from Scandinavia, where various dialects used the verbs fukka and focka, although it's proved impossible to conclusively trace the link, as written evidence for the use of slang taboo terms is pretty thin on the ground.

Derivations of words from initials such as Forced Unusual Carnal Knowledge, Workers On Government Service and Port Out Starboard Home always turn out to be myths.