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

[1am. I should really be in bed, rather than writing what will turn out to be drivel in the morning...]

I've been single-handedly (or so it feels) trying to bring a variety of little used words back into every day conversation. This has been going on for quite a few years now.

I spent a good part of a decade getting "numpty" out there. You've got to say a word a lot to the right people to get it heard by the other right people before it ends up mainstream and then bob's your uncle. I could chart the progress of "numpty" here, but it would take a while. So I won't.

About a year ago I started experimenting with the word "nice". My English teacher (and youngest nipper) would tell me that "nice" is a weak word. I'd agree. But sometimes there is a time and place for "nice". I lost my bottle with getting "nice" out there though. I might give it another go some time.

Now "malarkey" and "blimey" are two words that I've had some recent success with. "Malarkey" in particular is spreading like wild fire at work. I've also seen "malarkey" and "blimey" used recently in posts on hootoo by people who I'm not sure were using those words previously.

Today I've decided to spread the news about "crikey". I'm about to use it in another post any moment now...

Paff

When I saw the title of this, I expected it to be yet another thread on 'Ask' wanting some old TV series back ( hey, what do I know about names of your tv series).
Roymondo is using 'crikey' a lot - it hasn't caught on as far as I'm concerned, though.
And I quite like 'Malarky' - isn't that Frank McCourt's brother?

One of my ex-husband's friends had an awful habit of saying "Stroll on!" to everything you said. We used to say it to each other on the way home after an evening out with him & his wife, the taxi driver thought we were nuts!

My son's godmother says "Giddy Aunt!" after everything you say. It's somewhat perplexing when I find myself repeating that to her and she thinks I'm taking the p*ss. I haven't heard either expression by anyone else, I wonder if it's some sort of tick, or unnamed disease like that involuntary swearing-thing I can't recall the name of at the moment.

Heh I gotta try this experiment

Paff I dunno about Devon, but Numpty, being a Scotts word, has been in common usage in parts of Scotland since it's conception, much like the rather atrocious 'minging'.

Personaly I've always liked 'piffle'

'Numpty' is a word that's been in quite heavy use by me, my family and friends, ever since the days when Carlton Palmer used to play for England

I agree that nice is a weak word.

On being asked out for a drink last year I said 'that would be nice'. then when the invitation was offered again, I said the same thing. And felt really stupid for being so pathetic. So quickly added 'I'll look forward to that'. Which is nearly as bad.

Mind you, later on he did say that he knew I really wanted to go for the drink because I hadn't just said yes, I'd said it would be nice.

I'm now working on trying to sound a bit more excited.

In the meantime, I use 'good grief' in my journals every now and then.

Yes, I've since become aware of 'numpty' originating in Scotland. I heard it just once in the early-mid 90s (lived in Kent at the time) and then started using it profusely. I appeared to be the sole user of the word 'numpty' for years. I met up with some friends from London in the late 90s and coming out with 'numpty' got me some looks like I was from another planet.

Nice gets bad press, I think. I'd say there's nothing wrong with 'that would be nice', because, well, it _would_ be nice. I did make the mistake of trying it out in a new job. I was asked how my first day was, and I said "it was nice". I meant it literally. It was pleasant and agreeable. Went down like a lead balloon though. I only lasted 3 months in that job.

Didn't 'nice' used to have a meaning akin to 'daft' once upon a time? I have to admit I don't particularly like 'nice' - for the same reason I don't like this smiley - They're both a bit innuendoed and anal.... or maybe it's just me

Please and thank you need bringing back, methinks. In fact, since reading this thread, I've been holding things back and saying pointedly 'please?!' - in shops and the like. Speaking of lead balloons ...

I like the good old provincial and regional way of saying stuff. It is much more solid and dependable. When peeps open they're mouths, you know just what they mean. What d'you reckon (another one of my favourite words) this means in Northeast Ohio (where I first heard it, no idea if it originates there though)?

"Ma teeth're floatin'"

their, I meant their!!

*hides subed badge*

'Allo, I saw a 'Crikey' in B'Elana's convos and had to pop over.

I have been foisting 'crikey', 'crivvens', 'blimey' and the occasional 'gadzooks' on unsuspecting readers for some time but, alas, with little sign of them catching on.

Well, it helped you to a mention in post #2, so you can't complain.

This is true!

I feel an inaugural Bruvver'ood campaign coming on...

Sure, go ahead, then they can prove at last that they're useful for something.

We don't feel the need to prove anything: we do our deeds with the stealth of a stealthy thing, and our stealth is such that sometimes it might even appear that we're doing nothing.

Like a regular stealth fox then, I take it?

At least you provide some malarkey to this journal.

Hmmm, 'crivvens'. Hang on, just need to say that out loud.

Yes, as I suspected, I'm not fully able to say that convincingly yet without breaking into too much of a grin. So much as I'd like to join you in foisting 'crivvens' on unsuspecting readers - and listeners - I might just stick with 'crikey' for the time being.

Oh and hello Roymondo, not seen you in my (humble?) journal before.

Now, 'hello', that comes across a bit pants too. In the same league as 'nice'.


Wilma, I've been pushing 'please' and 'thank you' recently too. Mostly written in emails to colleagues in Hong Kong. I always open by saying 'thank you' for whatever they wrote last, then go on to explain what total garbage it was, and close with 'thank you once again' etc. A bit of politeness works wonders across a language barrier. When spoken, I find that 'please' works best in the middle of a sentence, not at the end: "Could you please pass the salt" as opposed to "Could you pass the salt, please". And using 'thank you' instead of good old lazy 'thanks' I think has got a bit of sincerity built into it.