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

cognate with stuck up?
Poor Mrs S obviously gave up quite early as the wonderful DJ hasn't been around for some time(not as such, anyway)I'll go and see if I can persuade her to add to the T discussion ()

I'm going off tomorrow - wish me luck!

I would have thought that having a toffee nose would be v. nice, so why isn't it? And why toffee-nosed anyway?

and why, and for how long?
"Goodbye,goodbye
Wipe the tear, baby dear, from your eye....
Bon soir old thing,
Cheerio, chin chin
Na poo, toodle-oo, good by-ee"

Toffee noses might be inconvenient if people licked them all the time.
I think they're probably connected with "toff" for upper-class, usually well-dressed, man, but I don't believe the only available derivation I have for that: "tassels worn on undergraduate caps by titled students" Honestly, if I couldn't come up with anything better than that, I'd keep quiet. ()

The true derivation of "Toffee nose" is far too rude to put in a dictionary! i.e. you would get a toffee nose if you were an a**e kisser.

No, that's a "brown nose", which doesn't have a connection with snobbishness, does it? ()

Just going back to US, hopefully for the last time. Need to sort out some legal stuff due to reappearance of SOB - but don't want to pollute this site with further details. Will be trying my best to get back by next Monday for London meeting. Save a soft drink for me!

I think WS is write; the reseacher formally know as DJ seems to have confused different types of noses. 'Brown nose' is all too clear. The toff = toffee theory sounds good to me. Have we got any toffs on h2g2?

TC, I've not heard anything back from tptb about the meeting but as it's round the corner from where they all work we might be graced with a presence.

...right.

Hello All.

I have been working on an entry about what might euphemistically be called short words for the Guide. I confess this was partly sparked by curiosity to see what the moderators make of it, though I will send it to Peta direct for discussion off-site rather then dump it into Peer-reveiw where it would be instantly deleted.

I am particularly interested in the differences between US, African and Antipodean usage and of course British usage. For example, Americans don't say 'for f**k's sake', and Brits don't say 'Cluster f**k'.

There has already been invaluable input from people including Wandrin Star and Lucinda (AKA My Red Dice), I am just being hopeful now.

You can find the link to it on my Personal Space, and you can post comments here, there, or email them to me.

Thanks

A tourettes-sufferer called Ben

Here I am....erm......what's the subject again???

You're welcome to think one up! Any strange quirk of the language that is used in Britain - perhaps exclusively. We will look for an origin for it, comment on it and see which region it is specific to.

That's the theory, anyway.

Rather hard for me to think one up, being that I'm from NYC. I did go to London once, but I think that doesn't qualify me as knowing a thing. I WAS raised on Monty Python and The Young Ones though...I'll think of something D*****!!

It's curious how short words tend to convey fairly basic meanings, while the really long ones seem designed to confuse meaning (I think I will set today aside as a day for generalisations).
In a similar vein, I sympathise with K - ex.partners can often be described using *very* short words!
How long can a word get before it is made up of others (or parts of) lumped together?

That's a brilliant question,Nikki D
3 syllables without prefixes of suffixes? elephant, balderdash, gorilla,
4 syllables (more difficult)? euphoria,America
5 syllables? I can't think of any, but I'm all set to shoot down any you come up with ()

Sorry, for of read or.
Impecunious? for 5 Normally the "im" would disqualify it, but I don';t think there's a positive root.
()

Well pecuniary gain means making a profit... Dont know if that counts as a root, though.

(sorry)

agcB

That's still 5 syllables

Come on , don't procrastinate, use your imagination.

Oh!
Great joy!
I made an intelligent contribution to the British English thread....!
*chortles soflty to herself in glee*
agcB

(doesnt the y on the end count as a suffix of some sort, though?)

Procrastinate. Yay. How long did that take you?
I won't accept imagination though - noun -forming suffix on imagine ()