Posted by: Jack Henry | August 14, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Dame

Wow. The other day I sent out a topic called Nick, based on an email I received from my friend Ron. I received so many unexpected responses from readers. From questions and comments about nicknames, to questions about the term “dame”—I can never predict what’s going to excite y’all.

One of my favorite comments, which will eventually be another topic, was this: “Be thankful he didn’t use the term ‘broad,’ which I think is a step down from dame.” There is so much there to discuss:

  • Why didn’t you talk about nicknames? [KC – I got sidetracked.]
  • Have you ever talked about nicknames like “Peggy” for the name “Margaret”? [KC – I’m not sure, but I have a bunch of new resources to look at. Thank you!]
  • Where did the term broad come from? [KC – Another new topic.]
  • What is a dame? [KC – Today’s topic.]
  • Why is the term dame considered less than complementary in America, yet in Britain it is the female equivalent of a knight? [KC – Today’s topic.]
  • What’s up with broad, dame, and other terms for women? [KC – I may have to leave this for Women’s Studies classes, which probably aren’t called that anymore.]

Let’s start with the etymology of the word dame. From the Online Etymology Dictionary:

dame(n.)

c. 1200, "a mother," also "a woman of rank or high social position; superior of a convent," and an address for a woman of rank or position, used respectfully to other ladies, from Old French dame "lady, mistress, wife," [KC – Think madam, mademoiselle] from Late Latin domna, from Latin domina "lady, mistress of the house," from Latin domus "house". [KC – AI says, “from the Latin root also comes madam,
madonna, and damsel.]

From early 14c. as "a woman" in general, particularly a mature or married woman or the mistress of a household. In later use the legal title for the wife of a knight or baronet.

Slang sense of "woman" in the broadest sense, without regard to rank or anything else, is attested by 1902 in U.S. English.

So, what is the difference in American and British definitions of dame? Well, in Britain, dame is still an honorable title. For example, Dame Judy Dench, Dame July Andrews, and Dame Helen Mirren have all been bestowed this title. As mentioned, it is the female equivalent of the title Sir, used by knights.

America was founded in reaction to kings and queens, and so we didn’t carry over the list of honorifics that they still use in England. I found bits and pieces about the “turn” of the word dame from positive to negative. Here’s part of an article from Does Dame mean girl? – Resto NYC:

As “dame” picked up negative connotations, it also increasingly became a slang or casual word for “woman” or “girl” in 20th century vernacular English.

In the 1800s through the 1920s, it was sometimes used as vulgar or lower-class slang by being paired with profanity, as in phrases like “son of a dame.” Here it indicated a woman of loose morals or low breeding.

But over the course of the 1900s, “dame” shifted from a reproachful slur to a more playful, informal word when referring to women. It gained popularity in pulp fiction, hard-boiled detective stories, film noir movies, and other genres aiming for edgy, urban flair. Writers used it to give a casual, street-smart tone, the way someone might use “chick,” “skirt,” or “broad” in conversation. [KC – And in the way that someone using “chick,” “skirt,” or “broad” in conversation today might get a boot to the head for being sexist.]

I saw a few other bits and pieces of information saying that during WWII, Americans might have picked it up from their British brothers. Whether the use coincides with the soldiers returning home and expecting all of the “Rosie the Riveters” to return home and be housewives, I don’t know. It’s interesting that the “reproachful slurs” for women were boosted as they became more independent.

But I digress. That’s your history of dame, as far as I can trace it.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Posted by: Jack Henry | August 12, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Anacoluthon

Good morning, dear people!

Today I have another rhetorical term for you: anacoluthon. At first, I thought this was a Greek swear word, but it’s not. It is defined as “syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence especially: a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another.” Here’s an example:

I told Gracie that we were coming to dinner—what’s that? A squirrel?

The shift, the inconsistency in the sentence, is used to create realistic dialogue, to show a change in thought, or to show emotion. I have a few examples of anacoluthon for you from Poem Analysis, and the great bard himself.

The works of William Shakespeare provide readers with a number of examples of anacoluthon. These can mainly be found when someone is trying to express something difficult, emotional, or complicated. It’s in these moments that it makes the most sense for sentences to interrupt one another, changing the feeling of the syntax.

King Lear

I will have such revenges on you both,

That all the world shall—I will do such things,

What they are, yet I know not

Hamlet

To die, to sleep–

No more–and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to?

To die, to sleep–

To sleep–perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub?

Then, there’s the anti-bard, AI. Here are a few examples from Copilot:

  1. "You know, I really ought to—well, never mind."
  2. "If you think I’m going to—look, just don’t."
  3. "I can’t believe you—anyway, let’s move on."
  4. "He said he would call, and then—nothing."
  5. "It’s not that I don’t want to help, but—well, maybe I do."

And there you have it! I think using this stylistic device is considerably easier than saying the word, anacolotholonectomy. Wait, I mean anacoluthon.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Posted by: Jack Henry | August 7, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Nick

Dear Editrix,

Who is Nick and why is the word used in so many ways? (I nicked my face shaving, Al Capone’s nickname was Scarface, I nicked the dame’s necklace, etc.)

Sincerely,

Ron the Retired

Well, hello, dear Ron. From your examples, you seem to be keeping up with your creative writing—either that or you’ve become a jewel thief. And then there’s the word “dame.” Also, creative writing, I hope. If not, and you’re calling the women you know “dames,” I think I just figured out why the dating scene is rough for you.

My first thought after reading your list was, “Wow, that is a lot of references!” Then I thought some more and realized that “Old Nick” is also a name for the devil. I’m sure there are even more nick-related names. Here’s what I uncovered in the Free Dictionary idioms. The definitions are theirs; the examples are mine.

in the nick of time (arrive in the nick of time, just in the nick of time)
To appear or reach a particular destination at the last possible moment before being too late.

Example: As Callie lit the first sparkler and Jo set fire to the ground bloom flower, Daisy ran up to the group in the nick of time with her bottle rocket.

down the nick (slang, primarily in the UK)

Example: Rupert called me from the police station. He’s down the nick for disorderly conduct after drinking too much.

get nicked (slang, primarily in the UK)

  1. verb To be stolen.

Example: My wallet was nicked from my purse at the street fair.

  1. verb To be arrested.

Example: The police nicked Liam for tagging the underpass.

nick (one) for (something)

To cheat or swindle one out of something, especially money.

Example: If you buy anything from that website, be careful; the prices look good, but as you check out they nick you for tons of extra fees.

nick ninny (obsolete)

A foolish or simple-minded person.

Example: Audrey is a total nick ninny—dumber than a box of hair.

nick off (primarily heard in Australia)

To leave or depart very suddenly, abruptly, or hurriedly, especially without permission.

Example: Those girls smoking and drinking in the park are young; I bet they nicked off from school early to be naughty.

nick up

To scuff, scratch, cut, or dent in multiple places the surface of something, especially one that had previously been free of blemishes. A noun or pronoun can be used between "nick" and "up."

Example: Ron shaved too quickly and nicked up his face.

Old Nick (primarily in the UK)

An old-fashioned name for the devil in Christianity.

Example: I’ve been drinking plain old water for six months; I’d sell my soul to Old Nick for a cold can of diet cherry Pepsi®.

Full of Old Nick

Always making mischief.

Example: Ray’s mom told me he’s been full of Old Nick since he was little. It was only the Air Force that could tame him.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Posted by: Jack Henry | August 5, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Ahoy! Alliteration all around!

Ciao, cheery cherubic coworkers!

When I was looking at the list of rhetorical devices from Merriam-Webster, I thought I might skip alliteration because it’s one of the more common devices. I changed my mind, not wanting to show favoritism, so here I am with alliteration, and lots of examples. M-W defines alliteration as “the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.”

And now for the examples from my second resource: Literary Devices.

Everyday Examples

· rocky road

· big business

· jumping jacks

· no nonsense

· tough talk

· quick question

· money matters

· picture perfect

Pop Culture

· Coca-Cola®

· Dunkin’® Donuts

· Tonka™ Trucks

· Weight Watchers™

· Dippin’ Dots™

· Hip Hop

· Paw Patrol™

· Door Dash

· House Hunters

Here are just a few examples from the wonderful world of superheroes and cartoons. I’m sure you can think of many more!

· Bugs Bunny

· Clark Kent

· Daffy Duck

· Donald Duck

· Lex Luthor

· Lois Lane

· Mickey Mouse

· Pepper Potts

· Peppermint Patty

· Peter Parker

· Pig Pen

· Porky Pig

· Wonder Woman

Stan Lee, American writer, editor, publisher, and producer is responsible for many of the alliterative character names in comics and said:

I have the worst memory in the world, so I finally figured out, if I could give somebody a name, where the last name and the first name begin with the same letter, like Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Matt Murdock, then if I could remember one name, it gave me a clue what the other one was, I knew it would begin with the same letter.

Back to our resource, Literary Devices, here is another explanation of the use of alliteration in literature:

The repetition of initial consonant sounds can have a pleasing effect for readers and listeners. In addition, it calls attention to the rhetorical and artistic impact of the words in that alliteration signifies that the alliterative words are linked purposefully and thematically.

Example: Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.

Example: Alone (Maya Angelou)

There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

This literary device is a clever way to set a mood in literature or a speech, and it serves well to help us remember words from a song, or the name of our favorite comic book character. May you march to the hum of your own message and meet many mimes as you march. (Um…no, that’s more scary than fun.)

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Posted by: Jack Henry | July 31, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Fiasco

I was originally very excited when I saw the title of this article: Top 10 Words with Remarkable Origins. I know, strange to be excited by this, but I’ve been working with my head down on our client conference, so this was like a tasty treat. As I read through the list, I found some things that I liked, but I also noticed that the writer wasn’t confident about several of the stories. “According to the theory,” “probably,” “the most likely theory,” and phrases throughout the article made me a little less certain about its accuracy. I like things that are verifiable!

In any case, I’m including the link for you, and some of the words. Let’s hope these are accurate.

Fiasco

The story here involves the original Italian word fiasco, which means "glass bottle."

According to one theory, when Venetian glass blowers realized a beautiful piece was flawed, they turned it into an ordinary bottle.

When that happened, a would-be work of art was downgraded into a mere fiasco – which is, according to the theory, how that word came to mean "complete failure."

Eavesdrop

Originally this word had nothing to do with snooping.

Eavesdrop started off literally: first it referred to the water that fell from the eaves of a house, then it came to mean the ground where that water fell.

Eventually, eavesdropper described someone who stood within the eavesdrop of a house to overhear a conversation inside.

Over time, the word obtained its current meaning: "to listen secretly to what is said in private."

Muscle

Imagine a statue in ancient Rome. Its muscles, to an audience of that time, may have suggested something very different from what they do today.

Muscle comes from the Latin musculus, which means "little mouse."

Why? Probably because a flexed muscle (a bicep, for example) was thought to resemble a mouse – with a tendon for a tail – moving beneath the skin.

Trivia

In ancient Rome, a trivium was an intersection of three roads (tri, "three" + vium, road).

When people met at a trivium, what did they tend to do? According to the Romans, they would shoot the breeze and discuss trivialis ("inconsequential things") – which eventually helped give trivia its modern meaning.

Enjoy your day!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editing Requests

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Posted by: Jack Henry | July 29, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Rhyme Time!

Check it out, my friends! I found something pretty cool on Merriam-Webster when I was looking up the word boon, which was used numerous times in a show I was watching. I thought I knew what a boon was, but I had to look it up after it was used to describe the favor of killing someone who wanted to die. (To make it worse, the person asking for the boon was the son of the god Dream/Morpheus. He wanted his dad to do the job. Did I mention his son was just a head?) Anyway, on we go.

boon

1: a timely benefit : blessing

The rain was a boon for parched crops.

2: benefit, favor

especially : one that is given in answer to a request

But that’s not the thing that excited me! What I found was a “Words That Rhyme with…” feature. Have you ever been trying to think of a rhyme for a word, and it just isn’t happening? I was not a lover of good poetry in school; in fact when I switched colleges, they made me retake Romantic Literature, which was mostly poetry, and I hated it.

But I am a lover of bad poetry. I have always enjoyed making up poems since I was a little kid. Most of them were pretty foul, but I sure loved it. If any of you have kids or grandkids, I think this site could be amazing for teaching purposes. Whether you teach your little ones how to write a poem or a saucy limerick is up to you.

So the first word I thought of was, of course, gross (booger). I thought for my example I’d move on to something a little more acceptable and I landed on stinker. Let’s just say my dog helped me come up with that.

Here are the results:

This won me over when I saw that they didn’t stop at two-syllable words—they came up with all kinds of matches! Stinker, binge drinker, eye winker; hook, line, and sinker; wishful thinker…think of the magic that could come from this lineup!

Let’s try another word: computer.

I won’t paste anything in, I’ll just type up my favorites:

  • Two syllables: pewter, scooter, suitor, cuter
  • Three syllables: commuter, polluter, bean-shooter, zuit suiter
  • Four syllables or more: prosecutor, biscuit shooter, electric scooter, telecommuter

You never know when this site could come in handy! Maybe when you’re eating cotton candy and drinking cherry brandy with your new friend Andy? Or reading Jack Handy with your big, sandy arm candy, Sandy?

I guess you can see what an annoying big sister I could be. Lucky for my brother Fritz, we didn’t have computers back then. 😊

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Posted by: Jack Henry | July 22, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Anadiplosis

I was reading up on rhetorical devices, and I thought there might be some new and interesting information to share with you here. Merriam-Webster provided a list of rhetorical devices and this explanation in one of their articles:

As with all fields of serious and complicated human endeavor (that can be considered variously as an art, a science, a profession, or a hobby), there is a technical vocabulary associated with writing. Rhetoric is the name for the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion, and though a writer doesn’t need to know the specific labels for certain writing techniques to use them effectively, it is sometimes helpful to have a handy taxonomy for the ways in which words and ideas are arranged. This can help to discuss and isolate ideas that might otherwise become abstract and confusing. As with the word rhetoric itself, many of these rhetorical devices come from Greek.

That said, I’m going to go through many of these items. Today’s first device is called anadiplosis. Let’s break that down a little into something that doesn’t sound like a new dinosaur name. From litcharts.com:

Anadiplosis is a figure of speech in which a word or group of words located at the end of one clause or sentence is repeated at or near the beginning of the following clause or sentence. This line from the novelist Henry James is an example of anadiplosis: "Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task."

Some additional key details about anadiplosis:

  • Anadiplosis appears everywhere, from literature, to children’s books, to famous speeches, to everyday conversation. It is also very common in the Bible. [KC – Examples further below.]
  • The emphasis created by anadiplosis’s repetition of words has the power to persuade, to create a sense of urgency or emotion, as well as to give a pleasing rhythm to text or speech. [KC – The nursery rhymes and song below are good representatives.]
  • Anadiplosis is also often used to stretch a logical progression of ideas across three or more clauses, as in the line from the movie Gladiator: "The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor." [KC – See the example from Malcolm X and other examples that follow.]

I think this becomes simpler and more sensible by looking at examples. Here are some examples from all over the place!

  • “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace)
  • “Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird / And if that mockingbird won’t sing / Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring / And if that diamond ring turns brass […]” (Nursery rhyme: Hush, Little Baby)
  • There was an old lady who swallowed a bird; / How absurd to swallow a bird! / She swallowed the bird to catch the spider / She swallowed the spider to catch the fly […]” (Nursery rhyme: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly)
  • “All you need is love, love is all you need.” (The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love”.)
  • “Once you change your philosophy, you change your thought pattern. Once you change your thought pattern, you change your attitude. Once you change your attitude, it changes your behavior pattern […] “The Ballot or the Bullet” (Malcom X)
  • “When your cable company keeps you on hold, you get angry. When you get angry, you blow off steam.” (2012 Direct TV ad)
  • The love of wicked men converts to fear, that fear to hate, and hate turns one or both to worthy danger and deserved death. (Richard II, Shakespeare)
  • My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, / And every tongue brings in several a tale / And every tale condemns me for a villain. (Richard III, Shakespeare)
  • I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree… (“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” William Butler Yeats)
  • In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (The Holy Bible, the book of John)

As you can see from the examples, anadiplosis is everywhere! It’s always interesting to find out there’s a name for devices we use every day!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Posted by: Jack Henry | July 17, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Hello my name is…

Somehow, the day moved so quickly that I forgot about Editor’s Corner. There’s always tomorrow, so I’m going to throw a little something your way for Friday.

I stopped by Merriam-Webster’s page to see if there was anything exciting there, and sure enough, there was a new quiz. This one is called Hello my name is… and that made me instantly (and shamefully) think of “Hello my name is…Slim Shady”. I decided to take the test and the whole time I had that song running through my head.

Despite that, I did much better than I did on the color quiz…in fact, the one I missed here was also about color. Go figure.

Check out the link above when you have a few minutes. I’ll give you a sample to get you started.

Which of these was named for an 18th century French physician?

You get to choose from four answers on the quiz.

  • Keratin
  • Limousine
  • Guillotine
  • Franks and beans

(Okay, I made this list up.)

Correct Answer: Guillotine

Famously used to behead aristocrats during the French Revolution, the guillotine was named after Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a physician and member of France’s National Assembly. Guillotin pushed for executions to be done by machine – a much faster and less painful alternative to the axe. Previously the device was called a louisette, after its inventor, Antoine Louis.

[KC – I just did a report for Bastille Day and the Mosaic BIG, and I learned something amazing about the Statue of Liberty from one of our coworkers:
the statue has broken chains at her feet! They were originally in her hand, where she now holds a tablet with the date of the
Declaration of Independence. She was a gift to America to symbolize freedom, particularly the freeing of the slaves in the U.S.

There’s a lot to learn about Lovely Lady Liberty here in this podcast:

https://youtu.be/WLmi5nxP3pQ?si=xSODjWI5rImgwuyc
or by looking up “Does the Statue of Liberty have chains under her feet?”]

Now, it looks like the Slim Shady Hello My Name Is test is up to you! Happy Friday!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Posted by: Jack Henry | July 15, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Word Fun from Richard Lederer

I borrowed today’s article from an old Richard Lederer column in the San Diego Union Tribune. I hope you enjoy it! (I removed a few just for space, but the whole list is on the website below.)

Readers Submit Snappy Sniglets To Snicker At – Verbivore

A stroodle is “the annoying piece of cheese stretching from a slice of hot pizza to one’s mouth.” A mustgo is “any item of food that has been sitting in the refrigerator so long it has become a science project.” And an ignosecond is “that overlapping moment when the hand is locking the car door even as the brain is saying, ‘My keys are in there!’”

These are three examples of the weirdly incisive world of Sniglets, the Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Dictionary created by comedian Rich Hall 30 years ago. Hall defines a sniglet as “any word that doesn’t appear in a dictionary, but should.”

  • puff puppies. the wispy accumulations of dog hair on the floor that resemble dust bunnies. popduds. the unpopped corn kernels left at the bottom of your microwave popcorn bag. lipstuck. the lipstick print on your wine glass. — Gail Rosemeyer, Carlsbad
  • sweatstache. the beads of sweat that form on your upper lip when your salsa is a tad too warm. gashole. the person who fails to pull to the forward pump when refueling. — Debi Buchanan, Fashion Hills
  • blueper. embarrassing momentary sighting of adult content when channel surfing premium cable channels in family company. escalexia. stumbling attempt to take first steps up on a stopped escalator. cellupedia. the aimless meandering of a cellphone talker in intense conversation. — Bradford Bruce, San Diego

And honorable mention to all:

  • syruptitious. sneaking more flavoring on your waffle — Doug Keeling, Oceanside
  • emailancholy. the dejection you experience when you open your email inbox and there is nothing there. — Steve Holder, College Area
  • cellnesia. the malady whereby you need to call your cellphone in order to find it, hoping it isn’t turned off or battery dead. — Nancy Britt, Lakeside
  • muttchkin. a tiny toy terrier of questionable ancestry. — Dave & Janel Roti, Poway
  • adsnot. the clear, elastic, squishy material used to seal junk mail fliers and to adhere sample credit cards to bank advertising. — Salvatore Scafidi, Mission Hills
  • tripblock. the bar of concrete that cars pull up to in a parking space and that pedestrians inevitably stumble over. — Eric Taylor, Hillcrest
  • press-one-itis. the sore finger you get trying to reach a real person on the phone. — Joan Bryant, Coronado
  • snortgust. the act of inadvertently snorting liquid, such as milk, into one’s nose while drinking it. — Jeanne Cherbeneau, La Jolla
  • teendenytis. a characteristic of your 16-year-old, who forgot to refill your gas tank, or who “didn’t” put that ding in your new car. — May Reeves, Oceanside
  • lateitude. A snarky excuse for one’s tardiness. — Annette Williams, Ramona
  • box sloth. a person who searches through every movie title at a DVD vending machine, no matter how many people are waiting in line behind them. — Shawn Murphy, San Diego
  • flitter. the mysterious debris that flies out of the bed of a pick-up truck and swirls down the freeway. — Ned Paterson, Carlsbad
  • squinthogs. people who fail to turn down their high beams when driving at night, blinding the oncoming traffic. — Kelley Dupuis, Chula Vista
  • grammo. a violation of the rules of grammar, on the order of typo. — Woody Wilson, Del Mar

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Posted by: Jack Henry | July 10, 2025

Editor’s Corner: Oofy

I was just looking for something in the dictionary, and I got sidetracked. (I know, usually we go there for words, but sometimes a lizard runs by on my fence and I lose my train of thought.) Today I spotted an article called ‘Ganef,’ ‘Galoot,’ and More Historical Slang Terms We Love. Ive heard galoot, but I had to find out what else Merriam-Webster picked out for us to read. Here are some of the words and definitions, but if you want more, feel free to check out the website.

ganef noun : thief, rascal

Ganefalso styled as gonif and goniffhas been in use in English since the late 1830s. It’s a Yiddish borrowing, and originally comes from the Hebrew word gannh, meaning "thief." It may be applied to thieves of any kind.

galoot noun : a man or boy; especially : one who is foolish or awkward

nerts noun plural : nonsense, nuts often used interjectionally

Nerts was especially useful in the late 1920s when you presumably couldn’t say "Nuts!" without shocking and offending, but now the latter sounds quaint and the former positively obsolete. Don’t let this stop you from assisting in its revival.

Holy Joe noun : parson, chaplain

Holy Joe was originally a term used by 19th century sailors to refer to those who ventured to the seas to minister to the saltier souls in need of salvation. It also referred to prison chaplains before expanding to refer more generally to any parson or chaplain.

roscoe noun : handgun

If the roscoe that refers to a handgun owes its existence to a particular Roscoe, that person is not known to history. What we do know is that the use of roscoe to refer to a handgun dates to the early 20th centuryand is playable in Scrabble.

oofy adjective : rich, wealthy

Oofy isn’t a word to flatter the financially flush among us, which is part of its charm. It’s a product of the late 19th century, having come quick on the heels of its predecessor, ooftish or oof for short; that word means "money," and comes from the Yiddish phrase uf tish, "on (the) table."

Its always a good day when you learn more words you can use for Scrabble!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editors Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories