Correcting my limitless lack of knowledge, one post at a time.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
slob
I'm watching The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, where for the second night in a row, Wisconsin Senator Glenn Grothman is calling the Wisconsin protesters 'slobs'. Whatever the merits of his political positions, calling the constituents of the state a pejorative isn't exactly covering him with glory.
The more the word is bandied around, though, the more I found myself wondering about it. What does it really mean? Of course it means slovenly, sloppy and schlumpish. It's the opposite of clean and tidy. Whether it also means what you are at 7 AM after sleeping on the cold hard floor of the Wisconsin State Capitol as Senator Grothman has just stated is a question I will leave to others to decide. But where did the word come from?
***
My guess would have been that 'slob' was in some way a transmutation of 'Slav', which was pejorative enough, once upon a time, according to Rebecca West in the opening of her brilliant book about traveling in Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. In fact, it has nothing to do with that part of the world. It comes from the Irish slab, or 'mud'. Yep, still denigrating, but of an entirely different group of people. Slab shows up in Irish text in about 1780 and the theory is that it came first from England, which used the term for 'a muddy place' at around 1600. And i's roots may go back to some Scandinavian beginning, as Iceland has the word slabb, for sludge.
It didn't get applied to people, though, until the mid 1800s. We can assume, I think, that the circumstances were somewhat Grothmanesque.
Kathleen, actually, I'm a bit of a slob. Especially right now, after pulling my house apart for a couple of good reasons, and, uh, not having bothered to put it together again, for a couple of bad ones.
Sean,
Yes, and it's very interesting and humbling to discover how many of my assumptions about words are just plain wrong.
Thanks, Glenna. Although it's more like I suddenly realize that I am uncertain or completely baffled about something myself and seek to inform myself as much or more than anything else.
A Lifetime of Laziness, Corrected, would be another name for this blog.
I think slab in Irish or rolling off an Irish tongue would sound more like slob than it would like the English word slab. This would lend credibility to the word origin given here.
Yes, I thought of that possibility. I'm not as sure how it sounds in an Irish accent as it does in British English, but this makes me remember how amused my was at hearing the name of arch-villain Grant Mitchell from Eastenders pronounced, "Gront." Sounded pretty grand for an Eastend felon.
Winter's Favorite Reads
-
*Brown’s Requiem*, James Ellroy. His first novel and a first-rate debut.
Fritz Brown has enough resemblance to a traditional private eye for readers
not...
FFB-Wednesday's Child, Peter Robinson
-
In an early book of his Inspector Banks series, two cases are presented. In
one, a small girl is taken out of her mother's house on the pretext of an
...
On Conversion
-
Today the church remembers a prophet-farmer who spoke from the margins for
the margins: St. Amos of Judah, Critic of the Monarchy and Firebrand
Defender of...
Chairing it
-
When in Gothenburg in 2005, at our first event ever, we were both quite
pleased that Son got a question in, quite early. I think it was to Toby
Litt, and t...
Burnt Offerings - 1976 film review
-
This is a blog about crime writing and crime fiction in its various forms,
but of course the boundaries between crime and other genres, such as the
ghos...
Memory as Resurrection: A Writing Activity
-
Cathy and I have had an odd feeling after selling her family home. She
still tears up from time to time when she realizes our attachment to our
native la...
Via Basel: The Monk and the Surgeon
-
*My Most Inspirational Book (so far), or The Monk and the Surgeon*
On this day, 3/12/2024, I finished reading *Notebooks of a Wandering Monk*
by Matthieu...
How Do You Read the Books You Read?
-
By
Scott D. Parker
I’m a book nerd. You too? Yeah, it’s great, huh.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a ton of To Be Read lists on my
various device...
Connotative Words – 99 Examples & Definitions
-
As a writer, understanding the subtle art of word choice transforms your
work from ordinary to extraordinary. This ability helps separate the
amateur write...
Where to Begin?
-
Where to begin? I'm so far behind in my blog posting! Well, I am still
participating in the poetry postcard project, from Winter Solstice to
Spring Sol...
-
*delighted to say that THE DETECTIVE UP LATE has been shortlisted for the
2024 Barry Award for Best Novel*
*huge thanks to the judges and the readers who...
Review: EVERYBODY KNOWS
-
*EVERYBODY KNOWS by Jordan Harper (Faber, 2023)*
*Reviewed by Craig Sisterson*
*In Hollywood, nobody talks. But everybody whispers... **Welcome to Mae
Pr...
Six of My Favorite Experiences of 2023
-
Natural Bridge, Virginia
*Great, bright portal,*
*shelf of rock,*
*rocks fitted in long ledges*[...]
*The world heaved—we are next to the sky*
- H.D.
...
Strange and Blessed Fire 5: Mothernaked
-
*While Pico and Patrizzi might differ on Aristotle, their philosophies
incurred the common fate of condemnation by the Church. Yet neither was
intention...
Alive and Branching Out
-
I'm still alive, thankfully, and slowly returning to full volume.
Since I started this blog, the personal artsy blog as a concept seems to be
fading away. ...
The Last Hurrah
-
‘Relax will you. It’s just an abandoned warehouse.’
‘Well, it’s giving me the creeps.’
‘We’ll just glance it over and skedaddle. Tomorrow you’ll be a fre...
Cecilia “Cissy” Suyat Marshall
-
Justice Thurgood Marshall’s widow, Cecilia Marshall, died this Tuesday.
After her husband’s death in 1991, she continued to occasionally appear at
the Co...
Declaration of Divorce
-
In despair, July 4, 2022
The reluctant declaration of the twenty five or so blue states of America:
This isn't working out. And sometimes, you know, in t...
Eight Basics of Successful Nonprofit Leadership
-
Leading a nonprofit is, in many ways, like leading any kind of business.
Some of these I learned growing up watching my father run his small
business. For ...
#104 / The Shared American Story
-
Ken Burns (pictured above) is an American filmmaker who is known for using
archival footage and photographs in documentary films about American
history....
On Writing and Jazz
-
Set during the Jazz Age, THE LAMMISTERS is a novel that plunders the
literary canon in the manner of a starved child let loose in a sweetshop.
Of all its ...
Irish Times review of DISORDER
-
This review, written by Declan Burke, appeared in The Irish Times on
Saturday 21st April 2018.
Potential for violence
Set in Belfast, Gerard Brennan’s ...
A Love Letter to Writers
-
1) She asks if her ideas, her story is silly. I can't answer that for her.
Only she can. I see her as a miracle, a jewel, a divine creation. How can
anythi...
On Finishing FINNEGANS WAKE
-
I’ve only ever belonged to one reading group, and for eight and a half
years we’ve been reading the same book, *Finnegans Wake*. Yes, you read
that right...
APHASIA
-
*Aphasia is the result of damage to the parts of the brain involved in
speaking, reading, writing and understanding others.*
Any damage to the language area...
The Mad Girls – free promotion!
-
For three days, you have the opportunity to get acquainted with an
interesting new writer, published by Candied Crime, our family publishing
company. Rannv...
From the US to Korea, by way of Denmark
-
*"I love music in every genre. Seriously, I love Ace Of Base just as much
as Bob Dylan. To me it's all the same. The only thing I don't like is music
witho...
Wanda's Christmas Story
-
Last year, sometime around Thanksgiving, I was walking along and
remembering the sad history of a story I wrote. It was a little long for
the usual literar...
A Barrel of Salt: Salzburg, Austria
-
Last summer I started this post talking about a saying my father handed
down to me. “You can’t know a man until you’ve eaten a barrel of salt with
him.” T...
Flanless in the kitchen, six p.m.
-
My walking buddy complains her flannel pajamas are no longer warm, cheery,
or comforting on these very long nights of early winter.. The thrill is
gone, a...
Grazie & Arrivederci!
-
So that's the end of the Europa Challenge! Thanks to everyone for a great
five years of reading and reviewing! I'll leave the blog up so folks can
find you...
Dahlia Lithwick on the mentally ill in jail
-
I'm reviving this somewhat moribund blog to post a link to an article by
Slate's Dahlia Lithwick on a mentally ill man who died after four months in
jail a...
Sayulita
-
It's not October anymore.
Something a bit more timely for the top o' the blog, okay?
My most amazing friend, Raquel, swept me out of my daily routine ...
-
Dear All,
This is Cynthia, I am David's sister in law and Naomi's sister. I am so
sorry to tell you that David passed away Friday evening. He was at home,
...
It Lives!
-
It has been quite a while since I have updated this blog. Some things have
changed over the last year, I changed jobs last October, after thirteen
years ...
UNDER CONSTRUCTION ~ OVER DELIGHT
-
UNDER CONSTRUCTION ~ OVER DELIGHT
* AT THE BIJOU * ?
Yes, that's right.
From our newly refurbished red velvet reader seats . . .
to showcasing AUTH...
-
Intermidable. Also very long.
This flight will be unpleasant till the end.
I have no pateince left that I can spend,
I am as crabby as a crabgrass lawn.
Thi...
William Kentridge at Volte gallery
-
The South African artist William Kentridge is showing at Volte gallery in
Colaba. Anybody in Bombay between now and March 20 should definitely put
the ex...
Worlds Collide Under Purple Skies
-
It's amazing to me how often my Japanese world collides with my American
world. Two years ago, I happened to be on vacation in *New Orleans*. I
was sitti...
Assistant Editor On Board!
-
TFFO writer Tom Pitts is the new TFFO editorial assistant at Out of the
Gutter Online! Click here to welcome him to the operation!
Gay Male Poetry Post Identity Politics, Part Five
-
I am now posting the last of the presentations from my AWP panel on gay
male poetry post politics. Like Aaron Smith, Brian Teare questions the idea
and the...
Oh, you are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteFacsinating. Such a simple word, yet as always, more to it than meets the eye.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, actually, I'm a bit of a slob. Especially right now, after pulling my house apart for a couple of good reasons, and, uh, not having bothered to put it together again, for a couple of bad ones.
ReplyDeleteSean,
Yes, and it's very interesting and humbling to discover how many of my assumptions about words are just plain wrong.
I love the things you think to inform us of. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Glenna. Although it's more like I suddenly realize that I am uncertain or completely baffled about something myself and seek to inform myself as much or more than anything else.
ReplyDeleteA Lifetime of Laziness, Corrected, would be another name for this blog.
Hmmm, interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn Belfast "Don't slabber!" means dont trash talk or dont talk back.
Or "Don't talk mud." Thanks. That's an interesting confirmation of the general idea.
ReplyDeleteI think slab in Irish or rolling off an Irish tongue would sound more like slob than it would like the English word slab. This would lend credibility to the word origin given here.
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought of that possibility. I'm not as sure how it sounds in an Irish accent as it does in British English, but this makes me remember how amused my was at hearing the name of arch-villain Grant Mitchell from Eastenders pronounced, "Gront." Sounded pretty grand for an Eastend felon.
ReplyDelete