Seldom-Used Words

[oggbashan]

...

pooh-bah - noun (often in caps) 1. one holding many private or public offices 2. one in high position

...

Pooh-Bah is a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. He is 'Lord High Everything Else' because when everyone else resigned rather than serve under a commoner, his family pride didn't stand in the way of making money. YouTube introduction to Pooh-Bah

Of course, Gilbert wasn't making fun of the Japanese, but of the British Establishment. Pooh-Bah was an example of politicians who were willing to accept any title and any position as long as they got paid for it, no matter how incompetent they were.

Pooh-Bahs still exist today. Titled people were often on boards of British Companies, especially charitable ones, not for their expertise but for their perceived respectability and connections.

However, in the 21st Century, just because a titled somebody is on the board of directors of a company, it doesn't mean that they are just there for their title. Modern Life Peers tend to become Peers because they are good at whatever they do, and can bring extensive skills to a company's board.

But there are still Pooh-Bahs who are there for their name, not their skills. It takes detailed knowledge (and a copy of Who's Who) to distinguish between Captains of Industry elevated to the Peerage; those political hacks elevated for 'services to a political party'; and moneyed idiots who donated to a political party. Even a skilled person can be a Pooh-Bah in the wrong roles.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

pooh-pooh - verb to express contempt or impatience

And your first guess for the origin of this one is probably right. It's a reduplication of pooh (also spelled poo, and probably closely related to poop).

So to pooh-pooh something is, quite literally—but politely, to heap shit on it.

 

[oggbashan]

Diversion from topic.

While searching for Pooh-Bah's introduction I found this Australian version of The Pirate King's Song from The Pirates of Penzance.

I think it is a good interpretation of the role.

My favourite part from the Pirates of Penzance is Hail Poetry! Gilbert and Sullivan's satire of Grand Operatic nonsense. Sing-Along version with introduction and ridiculously fast ending to the clip..

 

[trysail]

I first heard this one in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie;

poppet - noun 1. chiefly Brit: DEAR 2.a. Midland: DOLL b. obs: MARIONETTE 3.a. an upright support or guide of a machine that is fastened at the bottom only b. a value that rises perpendicularly to or from its seat 4. any of the small pieces of wood on a boat's gunwale supporting or forming the rowlocks

The first meaning that comes to mind for anyone who haunts boatyards is:

poppet n., (nautical) a temporary supporting brace for a vessel hauled on land or in a dry dock.


A vessel "on the hard" is typically supported by poppets.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWBC2KQuLhSqocvMfjum2lI2-RMF__Nn10tt3CXjkKCacoguRxCg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-on47DcUppA4/T0VWZMQ6o8I/AAAAAAAAAJw/1h2mIm3tWDw/s1600/boat+well+supported+2+but+no+adjustment-small.jpg

​

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Diversion from topic.

While searching for Pooh-Bah's introduction I found this Australian version of The Pirate King's Song from The Pirates of Penzance.

I think it is a good interpretation of the role.
My favourite part from the Pirates of Penzance is Hail Poetry! Gilbert and Sullivan's satire of Grand Operatic nonsense. Sing-Along version with introduction and ridiculously fast ending to the clip..

Wll, Og, given that the interpretation is clearly inspired by Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow, it's nice to see your appreciation of things from across the pond.

 

[oggbashan]

Wll, Og, given that the interpretation is clearly inspired by Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow, it's nice to see your appreciation of things from across the pond.

But was The Pirates of the Caribbean inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance?

 

[RjThoughts]

But was The Pirates of the Caribbean inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance?

No, it was inspired by the rides at the Disney Parks of the same name.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Of course, Og; if one wants inspiration for a light-hearted interpretation of pirates, one has to consider Penzance, but Depp gave it a defining model for modern times. It's a good idea to keep up the old Triangular Trade.

 

[oggbashan]

No, it was inspired by the rides at the Disney Parks of the same name.

I know. But what inspired the Disney Rides?

Pirates of Penzance was much earlier i.e. 19th Century.

 

[RjThoughts]

I know. But what inspired the Disney Rides?

Pirates of Penzance was much earlier i.e. 19th Century.

With Disney, that could be an option, but one never knows. Walt or one of his Imagineers could have just read Treasure Island and thought their interpretation could make for a good ride. With Disney, ANYTHING can cause someone to create a new ride or a new cartoon or a new movie....

 

[oggbashan]

emollient (last word of Hail Poetry!) adjective. That which softens or soothes the skin [e.g. lanolin] noun. An emollient substance.

Kevin Kline as The Pirate King.

 

[Handley_Page]

Pooh-Bah is a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado.

Pooh-Bahs still exist today. Titled people were often on boards of British Companies, especially charitable ones, not for their expertise but for their perceived respectability and connections.

However, in the 21st Century, just because a titled somebody is on the board of directors of a company, it doesn't mean that they are just there for their title. Modern Life Peers tend to become Peers because they are good at whatever they do, and can bring extensive skills to a company's board.

But there are still Pooh-Bahs who are there for their name, not their skills. It takes detailed knowledge (and a copy of Who's Who) to distinguish between Captains of Industry elevated to the Peerage; those political hacks elevated for 'services to a political party'; and moneyed idiots who donated to a political party. Even a skilled person can be a Pooh-Bah in the wrong roles.

It is widely suspected that Former (very) senior military types get rewarding 'jobs' (especially with the Industro-military community) just for being "the General"

 

[oggbashan]

It is widely suspected that Former (very) senior military types get rewarding 'jobs' (especially with the Industro-military community) just for being "the General"

I know this isn't the appropriate thread, but one of my most-liked movies is Buster Keaton's The General.

 

[AllardChardon]

I truly enjoyed reading and listening to the wonderful posts I found here this morning. I love Pirates of Penzance, and was pleased by the Australian production, but do love the Kevin Kline version very much. In thinking about who influenced who, I remembered that Hollywood had a slew of pirate movies and I loved them all. In researching that a bit on thepirateking.com website, which has the complete list of all the pirate movies ever made, starting with the black and white silent versions, it is difficult to say who influenced who. Pirates have always been popular in literature and film-making and still are! To list a few;

The Black Pirate - 1926
Captain Bood - 1935
The Buccaneer - 1938
The Sea Hawk - 1940
The Black Swan - 1942
Captain Kid - 1945
Disney's Treasure Island - 1950
The Crimson Pirate - 1952
Blackbeard the Pirate - 1952
Mutiny on the Bounty (Clark Gable) - 1953
Disney's Peter Pan - 1953

and the list goes on to the present with the latest popular pirate, Jack Sparrow.

A pirate ride across from Tom Sawyer's Island and next to Swiss Family Treehouse seemed perfectly placed, when it opened in Disneyland in 1967. It was the last ride that Walt Disney designed and opened three months after his death. We just didn't know it was going to be a series of movies much later on.

pony-up - verb to pay (money) in settlement of an account

 

[oggbashan]

...

To list a few;

The Black Pirate - 1926
Captain Blood - 1935
The Buccaneer - 1938
The Sea Hawk - 1940
The Black Swan - 1942
Captain Kid - 1945
Disney's Treasure Island - 1950
The Crimson Pirate - 1952
Blackbeard the Pirate - 1952
Mutiny on the Bounty (Clark Gable) - 1953
Disney's Peter Pan - 1953

and the list goes on to the present with the latest popular pirate, Jack Sparrow.
...

pony-up - verb to pay (money) in settlement of an account

Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk were based on novels by Rafael Sabatini. In his day, Sabatini was as popular as Clancy or Cussler are today.

My Historical Dictionary of Slang says that pony-up is a mainly US usage but:

Pony
1. A bailiff
2. Money
3. £25 in 1797; £50 in 1848; £25,000 of stock (because they are small sums as a pony is a small horse)
4. A small glass of beer
5. In gambling, a double-headed or double-tailed coin.
6. Short for Pony and Trap (see below)

Post the pony - pay up

Sell the pony - To toss a coin for drinks, hence, he who has to pay Buys the pony.

Pony and trap defecate (rhyming slang for Crap)

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, thanks for the English twist on pony-up. It is a great word, but on Lit might not bring about thoughts of payments on debts, at all.

Pontic - adj of or relating to Pontus or the Black sea

 

[CarlusMagnus]

Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk were based on novels by Rafael Sabatini. In his day, Sabatini was as popular as Clancy or Cussler are today.

My Historical Dictionary of Slang says that pony-up is a mainly US usage but:

Pony
1. A bailiff
2. Money
3. £25 in 1797; £50 in 1848; £25,000 of stock (because they are small sums as a pony is a small horse)
4. A small glass of beer
5. In gambling, a double-headed or double-tailed coin.
6. Short for Pony and Trap (see below)

Post the pony - pay up

Sell the pony - To toss a coin for drinks, hence, he who has to pay Buys the pony.

Pony and trap defecate (rhyming slang for Crap)

You left out ride the baloney pony.

 

[trysail]

hoyden
1., n., a boisterous, bold, and carefree girl; a tomboy,
2., adj., boisterous; rude.


Etymology:
1585–95; perhaps Middle Dutch heyden: boor, heathen.






The word showed up in a transcript of a news report aired on the U.S. National Public Radio about a comment made by French President Hollande's companion, Valerie Trierweiler, respecting his former wife, Segolene Royal.

...On Les Guignols, a satirical political TV show, puppets portrayed the ex and current partners as wild-haired hoydens, fighting over an indecisive, milquetoast Hollande...

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/154946741/french-first-lady-sets-country-a-twitter

 

[AllardChardon]

A good day to you all. Here is an interesting entry:

pons asinorum - noun a critical test of ability imposed upon the inexperienced or ignorant

 

[trysail]

pons asinorum - noun a critical test of ability imposed upon the inexperienced or ignorant

One of my favorite reference books is Cassell's Foreign Words and Phrases (London, 2000). Its entry for pons asinorum reads:

pons asinorum n. any severe test for a beginner.

18C Latin bridge of asses, from pons bridge + gen. pl. of asinus ass.

• The allusion is to the fifth proposition of the first book of Euclid's Elements of Geometry (c. 300 BC), notoriously difficult for beginners ('asses') to understand or 'get over' The proposition is in fact quite simple— that the base angles of an isoceles triangle are equal.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

The "Bridge of Asses" refers originally to Euclid's Fifth Theorem on the equality of angles opposite equal sides in an isoceles triangle. You can ask me why, but I don't know the answer. Thanks for making me feel as if I were back in High School, Allard; see, I'm even using the imperfect subjunctive. By the way, did I ever tell you I love you?

 

[AllardChardon]

Not lately, Tio, and I always love hearing that.

Bridge of Asses is quite an odd term, indeed.

poniard - noun a dagger with a slender triangular or square blade

 

[Tio_Narratore]

How nice to see you, my darling unspouse; we have some catching up to do.

The pogniard (either spelling is acceptable) was worn by the nobility historically, and probably derives from the parrying dagger, held in the off hand instead of a shield. Since it is relatively long and has a cross-guard, it seems to have been adopted as a primary weapon when not directly in battle.

 

[AllardChardon]

Yes, we do have some catching up to do, dearest, privately, of course.

Here is one that I should have figured out before, but never really contemplated before;

pone - noun (Algonquian origin) South & Midland; a cornmeal cake shaped into an oval in the palms and baked, fried, or boiled; also: corn bread in the form of pones

 

[oggbashan]

...

Here is one that I should have figured out before, but never really contemplated before;

pone - noun (Algonquian origin) South & Midland; a cornmeal cake shaped into an oval in the palms and baked, fried, or boiled; also: corn bread in the form of pones

Shorter Oxford:

1. Pone - Law. a) A writ by which a suit was removed from an inferior court to the Court of Common Pleas. b) A writ requiring the sheriff to secure the appearance of the defendant by attaching his goods or by causing him to find sureties for his appearance. (up to 1798)

[Who poned the Sheriff?]

2. Pone - The leader, or the leader's partner in some card games.

3. Pone - a) 1634 (Algonkin) Any bread made of maize; originally that of the N American Indians, made in thin cakes and cooked in hot ashes; also very fine light bread, enriched with milk, eggs, and the like, and made in flat cakes. b) A cake or loaf of such bread. 1796