Sunday 1 March 2009

The Words For Today.

SLUBBERDEGULLION

A filthy, slobbering person.


English, whatever its other merits, has as many disparaging words as one would possibly desire. The example that follows is from Sir Thomas Urquhart’s translation of Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel, dated 1653, which draws heavily on vocabulary used in Scotland in his time:


"The bun-sellers or cake-makers were in nothing inclinable to their request; but, which was worse, did injure them most outrageously, called them prattling gabblers, lickorous gluttons, freckled bittors, mangy rascals, shite-a-bed scoundrels, drunken roysters, sly knaves, drowsy loiterers, slapsauce fellows, slabberdegullion druggels, lubberly louts, cozening foxes, ruffian rogues, paltry customers, sycophant-varlets, drawlatch hoydens, flouting milksops, jeering companions, staring clowns, forlorn snakes, ninny lobcocks, scurvy sneaksbies, fondling fops, base loons, saucy coxcombs, idle lusks, scoffing braggarts, noddy meacocks, blockish grutnols, doddipol-joltheads, jobbernol goosecaps, foolish loggerheads, flutch calf-lollies, grouthead gnat-snappers, lob-dotterels, gaping changelings, codshead loobies, woodcock slangams, ninny-hammer flycatchers, noddypeak simpletons, turdy gut, shitten shepherds, and other suchlike defamatory epithets; saying further, that it was not for them to eat of these dainty cakes, but might very well content themselves with the coarse unranged bread, or to eat of the great brown household loaf."

Saucy coxcombs, noddy meacocks, flutch calf-lollies, noddypeak simpletons. They're all  good 

These words describe our government.

Our government perceives us as "daft" "ordinary" or "normal". all words used by "them" recently to describe "their" feelings towards us "the Great Unwashed".

Please feel free to look up the words they have used to describe those who they hold in contempt.


2 comments:

  1. Dear Mr LN,

    Beautiful, just beautiful.

    They certainly had a way with words, didn't they.

    Reminds me a bit of Mr Stanislav.

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  2. I was overwhelmed and awestruck by that passage. It has re-awoken in me a desire to use the words that I knew in my youth.

    Stanislav's writing is very definitely the modern day equivalent. Something to strive towards.

    Your writing is also to be recognised. Powerfully humourous and honed to an edge that cuts without effort. Pointed yet amusing.

    Stanislav and your good self. Point and counterpoint, Rock and Roll, sex and drugs.

    A picture may paint a thousand words, your words, and those of Stanislav, are as capable, as a thousand pictures.

    And stop Gulping!!!

    ReplyDelete

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