Owen in the dictionary...

thebish · Post by **thebish** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:45 pm

The Dictionary.com word of the day is......

Word of the Day for Thursday, July 15, 2010

brannigan \BRAN-i-guhn\, noun:

1. A carouse.
2. A squabble; a brawl.

Polonius certainly spoke a mouthful of truth to Laertes when he advised him, in effect, "Don't start a Brannigan. But if somebody else does, give 'em hell!
-- Ty Cobb and Al Stump, My life in baseball: the true record

Emerson says in his essay on compensation that those who who would enjoy the wolfish Satisfaction of shovelling it in each Morning must forego the simple Delights of acquiring a Brannigan the Night before.
-- George Ade, Hand-made fables

A brannigan is a case of a word acquiring general meaning after already existing as a family name.

Zulus Thousand of em · Post by **Zulus Thousand of em** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:50 pm

thebish wrote:The Dictionary.com word of the day is......

Word of the Day for Thursday, July 15, 2010

brannigan \BRAN-i-guhn\, noun:

1. A carouse.
2. A squabble; a brawl.

Polonius certainly spoke a mouthful of truth to Laertes when he advised him, in effect, "Don't start a Brannigan. But if somebody else does, give 'em hell!
-- Ty Cobb and Al Stump, My life in baseball: the true record

Emerson says in his essay on compensation that those who who would enjoy the wolfish Satisfaction of shovelling it in each Morning must forego the simple Delights of acquiring a Brannigan the Night before.
-- George Ade, Hand-made fables

A brannigan is a case of a word acquiring general meaning after already existing as a family name.

Boycott is another example.

And Shrapnel.

thebish · Post by **thebish** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:53 pm

bugger me backwards - why did I say Owen???

(I think I am mixing the famous bass soloist with the legendary bolton keeper)

bass soloist Owen:

Bolton keeper Keith:

Little Green Man · Post by **Little Green Man** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 2:37 pm

Zulus Thousand of em wrote: Boycott is another example.

And Shrapnel.

And Silhouette

And Hooligan

And Moat

OK, I lied about the last one.

thebish · Post by **thebish** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:59 pm

hmmm... eponyms.

from the fashion world... Amelia Bloomer, an American feminist of the 1800s, championed the undergarment known as bloomers. And the French aerialist Jules Leotard, creator of the flying trapeze, popularized the even more daring tights.

more topically - golf - Bertha Krupp, a German military manufacturer during World War I. Her firm made a giant howitzer that British soldiers dubbed Big Bertha. But the hefty arms merchant has been redeemed through sport: Contemporary golfers refer to her fondly as they swing the innovative driver named -- what else? -- Big Bertha.

(culled from.. http://www.rd.com/people-who-become-wor ... 12148.html)

Gary the Enfield · Post by **Gary the Enfield** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 4:35 pm

Thomas CRAPPER

thebish · Post by **thebish** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 4:49 pm

Percival Wankstain

Prufrock · Post by **Prufrock** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:29 pm

Gary the Enfield wrote:Thomas CRAPPER

Was just coincidentally named. The word 'crap' already existed.

Worthy4England · Post by **Worthy4England** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:36 pm

Prufrock wrote:
Gary the Enfield wrote:Thomas CRAPPER
Was just coincidentally named. The word 'crap' already existed.

Aye but did we have crappers, to do said crap upon?

Prufrock · Post by **Prufrock** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:48 pm

Worthy4England wrote:
Prufrock wrote:
Gary the Enfield wrote:Thomas CRAPPER
Was just coincidentally named. The word 'crap' already existed.
Aye but did we have crappers, to do said crap upon?

Somehow I imagine the word 'crapper' meaning toilet comes from the word 'crap' as opposed to his name

.

He did however invent, not the flushing toilet, but the wonderfully named 'ball-cock'.

thebish · Post by **thebish** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:51 pm

Prufrock wrote:
Worthy4England wrote:
Prufrock wrote:
Gary the Enfield wrote:Thomas CRAPPER
Was just coincidentally named. The word 'crap' already existed.
Aye but did we have crappers, to do said crap upon?
Somehow I imagine the word 'crapper' meaning toilet comes from the word 'crap' as opposed to his name .

He did however invent, not the flushing toilet, but the wonderfully named 'ball-cock'.

the ball-cock was named after Cannon & Ball. when they used come on - people used to shout "cock!" - hence - "Canon and ball - cock" - later shortened to "ball-cock" - meaning summat to be flushed away quickly and without fuss... FACT

bobo the clown · Post by **bobo the clown** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:22 pm

thebish wrote:
Prufrock wrote:
Worthy4England wrote:
Prufrock wrote:
Gary the Enfield wrote:Thomas CRAPPER
Was just coincidentally named. The word 'crap' already existed.
Aye but did we have crappers, to do said crap upon?
Somehow I imagine the word 'crapper' meaning toilet comes from the word 'crap' as opposed to his name .

He did however invent, not the flushing toilet, but the wonderfully named 'ball-cock'.
the ball-cock was named after Cannon & Ball. when they used come on - people used to shout "cock!" - hence - "Canon and ball - cock" - later shortened to "ball-cock" - meaning summat to be flushed away quickly and without fuss... FACT

We should not go any further into the Blackburn invention of the Sis-Turn !

Randy Watson · Post by **Randy Watson** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:08 pm

ouuhhhh arrrhhhhh

Montreal Wanderer · Post by **Montreal Wanderer** » Wed Aug 18, 2010 3:14 pm

Prufrock wrote:
Gary the Enfield wrote:Thomas CRAPPER
Was just coincidentally named. The word 'crap' already existed.

Hold on a second. Certainly the noun 'crap' already existed from early times but, according to the OED, was first noted to mean excrement in 1896 after Thomas had done his thing (so to speak). As a verb it was also a C19th coinage. The term crapper to refer to a water closet came as an eponym from Thomas who proudly put his name on the bowl, so we cannot brush it off as mere coincidence.