Seldom-used words - M to A

[ishtat]

We Brits weren't satisfied with the local words for food, hence locust bean.

We used to say that peanuts were ground-nuts, and that peanut butter was that confusing compound: 'ground ground-nuts'.

Our post war socialist government lost a lot of cash in a failed scheme to grow ground-nuts in Africa. It was such a colossal failure that they changed the British usage to peanuts, to try to hide the truth of their ground-nut failure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanganyika_groundnut_scheme

I know I'm diverging from the thread topic, but the pedant in me can't resist pointing out that whether you call 'em peanuts or groundnuts they're not nuts at all, but legumes. Thus the 'pea' component in the name is the more accurate.

Now, carry on.

 

[Handley_Page]

I know I'm diverging from the thread topic, but the pedant in me can't resist pointing out that whether you call 'em peanuts or groundnuts they're not nuts at all, but legumes. Thus the 'pea' component in the name is the more accurate.

Now, carry on.

Personally, I ain't keen on them either way.

 

[oggbashan]

Og, I agree with Handley, that was very funny. Which part did you play, the reciter or the hand gesturer? ...

The duologue version is modern, a 1960s invention.

When I did it, the reciter did the hand gestures too.

 

[AllardChardon]

ishtat, so true. Peanuts grow in the ground and not in a tree, like real nuts. I must admit, I love peanuts in all ways, except raw. Roasting is a necessity.

Og, now I can properly envision your act, thanks for the clarification.

locus classicus - noun (1853) 1. a passage that has become a standard for the elucidation of a word or subject 2. a classic case or example

 

[AllardChardon]

Hello, everyone.

locum tenens - noun (1641) one filling an office for a time or temporarily taking the place of another - used esp. of a doctor or clergyman

 

[oggbashan]

Hello, everyone.

locum tenens - noun (1641) one filling an office for a time or temporarily taking the place of another - used esp. of a doctor or clergyman

Doctor Locums are a sore point in the UK. They are paid very high rates for short working hours, so much so that some come over from Europe just to work a weekend in the UK for more money than they are paid for a week's work in their own country.

Doctors' training programmes were drastically revised a decade ago. Until then a newly qualified junior doctor who wanted to become a General Practitioner = Family Doctor would apply to local medical practices and would be selected on merit and interview. The new system was computerised and took NO account of qualifications beyond the minimum, NO account of marks received at examinations and NO account of exceptional achievements.

My youngest daughter was a victim of the new system. She wanted to be a General Practitioner. She had studied at the best medical school in the UK; had high marks in her examinations; had won prizes as 'best student' in two disciplines; and had great letters of recommendation. But none of that counted.

She applied through the system for any GP training position in London (short of GPs); in SE England (short of GPs) and the whole of Southern and Eastern England from Cornwall to Lincolnshire. The system told her, repeatedly, that there were no available vacancies. They had been filled by a randomised system that was basically a lottery for all new doctors.

She became a palliative care specialist.

Many of those who filled the training posts she wanted failed their training because there was no test in the system for aptitude or suitability.

So now London and SE England employ far too many expensive Locum Tenens.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

DoctorSo now London and SE England employ far too many expensive Locum Tenens.

They may not be as expensive as you think. They must pay for their own licenses instead of having the practice pay; they must pay for their own insurance, instead of having the practice pay; and they frequently get no other benefits (vacation, health care, education money, etc.).

 

[oggbashan]

They may not be as expensive as you think. They must pay for their own licenses instead of having the practice pay; they must pay for their own insurance, instead of having the practice pay; and they frequently get no other benefits (vacation, health care, education money, etc.).

Not in the UK. All doctors must pay their own insurance, and health care is NHS. In London a typical GP Locum costs four or five times the pay of an employed doctor. That covers many of the other missing benefits and leaves a massive profit. They do have to pay the agency's fees - or the practice does.

Many London practices and hospitals couldn't survive without employing locums.

Last night our manager of several local hospitals admitted that if he had 'all the money in the world' he couldn't fill all his permanent vacancies for doctors and nurses because there aren't enough of them. It was an exaggeration to make a point.

For decades we haven't been training enough doctors and nurses, and filling available places in training schools with international students. Too many of our own doctors and nurses decide that money and conditions are better in other countries. Some doctors' practices in Sydney, Australia are wholly staffed with ex-pat Brits.

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Og, for commenting on the current Locum Tenens doctor problem in the UK. Of course, I had no idea. Athough I watch BBC News as often as possible, not all of your problems are discussed. BBC News does discuss American problems I do not hear about anywhere else, though, and I find that very enlightening.

Here is a word I have never heard before and wonder how that happened;

Locofoco - noun (1835) 1. a member of a radical group of New York Democrats organized in 1835 in opposition to the regular party organization 2. DEMOCRAT

 

[Handley_Page]

Here is a word I have never heard before and wonder how that happened;

Locofoco - noun (1835) 1. a member of a radical group of New York Democrats organized in 1835 in opposition to the regular party organization 2. DEMOCRAT

According to my dictionary, the shortened term "loco" can be /is used.
Would this have any connection with the expression "He's plum Loco" ?
which I had hitherto assumed was 'slightly mad'.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

According to my dictionary, the shortened term "loco" can be /is used.
Would this have any connection with the expression "He's plum Loco" ?
which I had hitherto assumed was 'slightly mad'.

It's most likely from the Spanish word for insane.

 

[MatthewVett]

Thank you, Og, for commenting on the current Locum Tenens doctor problem in the UK. Of course, I had no idea. Athough I watch BBC News as often as possible, not all of your problems are discussed. BBC News does discuss American problems I do not hear about anywhere else, though, and I find that very enlightening.

Here is a word I have never heard before and wonder how that happened;

Locofoco - noun (1835) 1. a member of a radical group of New York Democrats organized in 1835 in opposition to the regular party organization 2. DEMOCRAT

Interesting. Apparently it originally applied to self-lighting cigars and matches.

 

[AllardChardon]

Welcome, MatthewVett. Your explanation makes sense. My dictionary says it comes from a type of friction match, also prob. from locomotive and Italian fuoco, foco fire, from Latin focus hearth.

I never really knew how this saying came into being;

lock, stock, and barrel adv [from the principle parts of a flintlock] (1842) WHOLLY, COMPLETELY

 

[AllardChardon]

Good day, posters. I took the day off yesterday. Didn't go online at all. Sometimes that feels like a kind of freedom, bordering on rebelliousness. How amusing.

Another fabric term;

lockram - noun (14c) a coarse plain-woven linen formerly used in England

A word I learned about with a horrific past, not noted in my dictionary;

From Online Etymology Dictionary:

thug - noun (1810) "member of a gang of murderers and robbers in India who strangled their victims," from Marathi thag, thak "cheat, swindler," Hindi thag, perhaps from Sanskrit sthaga-s "cunning, fraudulent," from sthagayati "(he) covers, conceals," perhaps from PIE root *(s)teg- (2) "to cover" (see stegosaurus).

The thugs roamed about the country in bands of from 10 to 100, usually in the disguise of peddlers or pilgrims, gaining the confidence of other travelers, whom they strangled, when a favorable opportunity presented itself, with a handkerchief, an unwound turban, or a noosed cord. The shedding of blood was seldom resorted to. The motive of the thugs was not so much lust of plunder as a certain religious fanaticism. The bodies of their victims were hidden in graves dug with a consecrated pickax, and of their spoil one third was devoted to the goddess Kali, whom they worshiped. [Century Dictionary]

The more correct Indian name is phanseegur (from phansi "noose"), and the activity was described in English as far back as c. 1665. Rigorously prosecuted by the British from 1831, they were driven from existence by century's end. Transferred sense of "ruffian, cutthroat, violent lowbrow" is from 1839.

 

[oggbashan]

...

A word I learned about with a horrific past, not noted in my dictionary;

From Online Etymology Dictionary:

thug - noun (1810) "member of a gang of murderers and robbers in India who strangled their victims," from Marathi thag, thak "cheat, swindler," Hindi thag, perhaps from Sanskrit sthaga-s "cunning, fraudulent," from sthagayati "(he) covers, conceals," perhaps from PIE root *(s)teg- (2) "to cover" (see stegosaurus).

The thugs roamed about the country in bands of from 10 to 100, usually in the disguise of peddlers or pilgrims, gaining the confidence of other travelers, whom they strangled, when a favorable opportunity presented itself, with a handkerchief, an unwound turban, or a noosed cord. The shedding of blood was seldom resorted to. The motive of the thugs was not so much lust of plunder as a certain religious fanaticism. The bodies of their victims were hidden in graves dug with a consecrated pickax, and of their spoil one third was devoted to the goddess Kali, whom they worshiped. [Century Dictionary]

The more correct Indian name is phanseegur (from phansi "noose"), and the activity was described in English as far back as c. 1665. Rigorously prosecuted by the British from 1831, they were driven from existence by century's end. Transferred sense of "ruffian, cutthroat, violent lowbrow" is from 1839.

The cult was featured in John Masters' novel The Deceivers:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deceivers

The real cult of Thuggee was destroyed by the British in India:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee

William Sleeman was responsible for coordinating the activities against Thuggee, operating almost the world's first ever nationwide initiative against an extensive crime syndicate.

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Og, for adding those links on the Thugees. I love learning new things.

lochan - noun (1670) Scot: a small lake

 

[beachbum1958]

The cult was featured in John Masters' novel The Deceivers:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deceivers

The real cult of Thuggee was destroyed by the British in India:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee

William Sleeman was responsible for coordinating the activities against Thuggee, operating almost the world's first ever nationwide initiative against an extensive crime syndicate.

One of my GGG-grandfathers wasan officer with The East India Company army and he was involved in tracking down and hanging one particular group of thugee devotees operating near Nilgari. He kept one of their handkerchiefs, and the rupee coin twisted inside it used for the ritual strangulation. The whole thing is in a glass case in the family house, with a label identifying it as a Thugee Rhumal, but I don't know if that's its name in the cult, a colloquial name for a kerchief, or just something he heard and assumed it referred to the twisted kerchief.

 

[oggbashan]

One of my GGG-grandfathers wasan officer with The East India Company army and he was involved in tracking down and hanging one particular group of thugee devotees operating near Nilgari. He kept one of their handkerchiefs, and the rupee coin twisted inside it used for the ritual strangulation. The whole thing is in a glass case in the family house, with a label identifying it as a Thugee Rhumal, but I don't know if that's its name in the cult, a colloquial name for a kerchief, or just something he heard and assumed it referred to the twisted kerchief.

A Rhumal with a coin in it for weight was used by Thuggee. There were so many groups of them operating across India that such a souvenir is probable.

 

[AllardChardon]

Welcome, beachbum1958, and what an interesting family story. Thanks for sharing it.

Og, on second thought, I should have said I love learning "new" things about old words. Not much of this thread is really "new."

This concept has had a resurgence in interest in America;

locavore - noun (2005) one who eats food grown locally whenever possible

 

[AllardChardon]

Greetings to all.

What a funny name for the night shift:

lobster shift - noun (ca. 1933) a work shift (as on a newspaper) that covers the late evening and early morning hours - called also lobster trick

 

[Handley_Page]

Greetings to all.

What a funny name for the night shift:

lobster shift - noun (ca. 1933) a work shift (as on a newspaper) that covers the late evening and early morning hours - called also lobster trick

Also known as the "Graveyard shift", I believe.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

Also known as the "Graveyard shift", I believe.

It's also sometimes, and wrongly, referred to as the "swing shift".

A true swing shift arises from union rules that prohibit the company from requiring a union member to work more than seven days consecutively. A typical swing shift might involve two days on the 12-to-8 shift, a day off, a day on the 8-to-4, a day off, and then two more days on the 4-to-12.

 

[AllardChardon]

Carlus, my eldest son worked a job that used the "swing shift" schedule. After a few years, he had to quit to save his own health. Truly, a brutal practice. But, what the graveyard shift has to do with lobsters is beyond me.

lobscouse - noun (1706) a sailor's dish of stewed or baked meat with vegetables and hardtack

 

[Handley_Page]

Carlus, my eldest son worked a job that used the "swing shift" schedule. After a few years, he had to quit to save his own health. Truly, a brutal practice. But, what the graveyard shift has to do with lobsters is beyond me.

lobscouse - noun (1706) a sailor's dish of stewed or baked meat with vegetables and hardtack

This might give you a clue.

 

[oggbashan]

...

lobscouse - noun (1706) a sailor's dish of stewed or baked meat with vegetables and hardtack

It was also popular in ports:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouse_(food)

Particularly Liverpool, where the accent was called Scouse:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouse

and Liverpudlians called Scousers. The Beatles were Scousers.