Being Bardi

Rapscallion

A ne'er do well, a rascal. 17C.E.


Come on..taste it..roll it over your tongue. Imagine meeting one and just surrendering to the sheer pleasure of letting this word surround them like a bouquet of dead roses,one petal at a time.

Hooligan


"a usually young man who does noisy and violent things as part of a group or gang; hoodlum"

I have to admit, I had thought this phrase to be older. Turns out it only dates to the late 19th C.E. and could well be eponymous, in that it refers to an Irish born but London resident ruffian named Patrick Hooligan.

And there was a subcategory of "football hooliganism", also known as the "English disease"

termagant

Hardly a term that applied to any of the ladies on my fl, this is a 13th C.E. term for an ugly, naked, nagging, violent woman. At one time or another I am sure we have all had a neighbour like that,eh?

Quodlibet Either a topic for (or exercise in) philosophical or theological discussion, or a light-hearted medley of well-known tunes.

From the latin quod..or what, and libit..what pleases. So arguably, what pleases you. Originally it was to Philosophy and Theology what mock courts are to Law students. While we do not use the word often, the concept is still popular in University coffee houses. Especially, as it happens, those that serve alcohol.

Why the second definition came about I am not sure. I can tell it that it originated in Germany. How it got from philosophy to music is intriguing, not least because it didn’t happen in English. In the late Middle Ages in Germany, quodlibet started to be applied to type of humour that featured daft lists of items loosely combined under an absurd theme — one example was objects forgotten by women fleeing from a harem. Something similar happened in France, where a quodlibet became a witty riddle — even today, avoir de quolibet means to produce clever repartee on demand.

The German idea of the humorous conglomeration was first applied to a musical composition by Wolfgang Schmeltzl in 1544 and the name later became the usual term in that language for facetious combinations of tunes haphazardly combined. Famous examples exist in works by Bach and Mozart in the eighteenth century. In this connection it certainly lives up to the idea behind the Latin word, since the aim is to produce a humorous amalgam of tunes to please the audience.

Perhaps it was fleugelhorn playing Philosophy students at Octoberfest? One can neve tell. As for the French adaptation...even the French do not see to understand French so who can tell.

I must admit,btw, the I have a fondness for the letter Q. In fact I have a cat named Quanta. There is just something about foming the sound of the letter q which may not be overly appreciated in sophisticated company. But I have never claimed to be sophisticated. Any more than a quocker-wodger could claim to be sophisticated. Which is one of those delightful coinages from early 19th C.E. America for a slimy, devious politician.

Jabitation 1. A body turning restless during an illness. 2. Boastful or false statement

I am told the first meaning still applies on occasion in the medical community. But it is the second meaning that interests me (as you can well guess I suppose?) In this meaning there is even a noun form, Jactator..or braggart. Whom I am sure we have all met.

Gabbler : to reproduce some message or information in a confused or distorted way

I know what you are thinking. That is not that unusual. However, the root etymology of the word is from the Latin cribrum a sieve
Originally it meant someone who shifted spice to remove the rubbish. Given the variety of ways in which that metaphor could be used today perhaps it is time we brought it back to the original usage.

ecardinate without hinges


I could see this being a useful word.

"You will have to forgive my friend. He is a bit ecardinated,eh?

Callithumpian A band of discordant instruments or a noisey parade

Also supposedly in NZ and Australia a noncomormist religious sect. I like the original definition though, which was a heckler. I have always thought calling a heckler a troll in cyberspace is a bit of an insult to the poor trolls. And there is just something about the way Calithumpian rolls off the tongue,eh?

Abligurition The spending of an excessive amount of money on foods.>

Now, it says in that stack over there..or perhaps over there, that this is a word whose time has come and gone. Which I find rather sad. Anyone who has had to eat in an airport knows that the word can still find situations where it is applicable. But that is what I have been thinking I remember reading or hearing somewhere that, even though the English language continues to grow, that the actual number of words outside of specialisations has decreased. So I say FIE! Let us take ourselves to the retiement lexicology centres around the English speaking world and dust some of them off, eh?

**Some of you may be thinking, hmm, he has started with the letter A. I wonder if there is any significance to this fact. Would he be thinking of continuing? As it happens, yes.