DonRocks Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I've now heard the word "hinky" multiple times, mostly when watching Jack Webb productions of "Dragnet" or "Adam-12," but in at least one other place also - I can't remember where, but I'm pretty sure it was in an old movie. I don't know if "hinky" was in common usage in the 1960s, but to the best of my memory, I've never heard it used in conversation. In the context where I've heard it used, it's a synonym for "antsy" or "edgy," due to criminals feeling the heat of an impending police presence. Does anyone else know about hinky, and its use and/or disuse? It's entirely possible that it was a Jack Webb quirk, but the movie referenced above wasn't a Webb production. Where is Bill Walsh when we need him? Bill remains the best I've ever encountered in the "Grammar Geekery" line, although I have to give some serious props to leleboo as well (an English degree from Harvard in three years? Hello ...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dracisk Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I've heard it in conversation, though possibly only once. I don't think I'd ever heard it before, so it stuck with me. I took it to mean weird, but maybe I should have taken it to mean suspicious. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leleboo Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 I've heard it more than a few times, but I also can't remember where. I think it's commonly associated with pre-Civil-Rights-Era African-American culture, meaning something weird or off-kilter, but I don't have my OED handy (and my OED is actually from the 50s, so probably I need a new one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Slater Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 2 hours ago, DonRocks said: I've now heard the word "hinky" multiple times, mostly when watching Jack Webb productions of "Dragnet" or "Adam-12," but in at least one other place also - I can't remember where, but I'm pretty sure it was in an old movie. I don't know if "hinky" was in common usage in the 1960s, but to the best of my memory, I've never heard it used in conversation. In the context where I've heard it used, it's a synonym for "antsy" or "edgy," due to criminals feeling the heat of an impending police presence. Does anyone else know about hinky, and its use and/or disuse? It's entirely possible that it was a Jack Webb quirk, but the movie referenced above wasn't a Webb production. Where is Bill Walsh when we need him? Bill remains the best I've ever encountered in the "Grammar Geekery" line, although I have to give some serious props to leleboo as well (an English degree from Harvard in three years? Hello ...) Remember that Jack Webb's most consistent quirk is that he always wore red socks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidsdc Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 I had heard it quite a bit in my youth, and can't recall whether it was my mother or father who used it...meaning the influence came from either my maternal mid-western roots or my paternal Brooklyn/Rochester roots. Either way, I thought it was associated with Jewish culture and never heard of the correlation with African American culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 I’ve heard it in my law practice, as in that transaction seems hinky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 39 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said: I’ve heard it in my law practice, as in that transaction seems hinky. One to stay away from? Sketchy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 1 hour ago, DonRocks said: One to stay away from? Sketchy? It was a favorite word of David Letterman's when he had his show and was used in the sense of sketchy or not quite right. It seemed like he started using it later in the run, or maybe that's just when I started noticing it. I associate it with his CBS years. I wasn't familiar with the word and figured it was one of his Hoosierisms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 1 hour ago, DonRocks said: One to stay away from? Sketchy? Same as saying that dog doesn't hunt - the transaction probably doesn't work (in terms of generating tax benefits). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weezy Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 I remember it from The Fugitive movie, Tommy Lee Jones. Also from a Cagney & Lacey episode once. I don't recall hearing it in real life conversations. Based on nothing but gut instinct, I thought it probably came from mangled derivation of "hi-jinks." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidsdc Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 7 hours ago, DonRocks said: One to stay away from? Sketchy? Hinky has always been used in my family in the "weird" or "off-kilter" meaning, as leleboo mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 Incidentally, another word I've heard used in similar situations and with similar frequency is "bunco." Bunco is a word that's dying from our lexicon, and means "petty swindling" - for example, the people on the streets of Manhattan (to whom I didn't lose $80 when I was 24 years old, I swear - but if I did, it would have been the best $80 I ever spent) playing the shell game, or three-card monte - a no-win situation for the player, and they're holding the money, so there isn't a damned thing you can do about it. People coming around offering to "trim your trees," or sell discounted "magazine subscriptions" for cash, or "exterminators" catching and clearing out raccoons from your house (and releasing them on the next block) - that's handled by the Bunco Squad of your local police department (which no longer exists). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiouskitkatt Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 On 11/9/2017 at 5:05 PM, DonRocks said: I've now heard the word "hinky" multiple times, mostly when watching Jack Webb productions of "Dragnet" or "Adam-12," but in at least one other place also - I can't remember where, but I'm pretty sure it was in an old movie. I don't know if "hinky" was in common usage in the 1960s, but to the best of my memory, I've never heard it used in conversation. In the context where I've heard it used, it's a synonym for "antsy" or "edgy," due to criminals feeling the heat of an impending police presence. Does anyone else know about hinky, and its use and/or disuse? It's entirely possible that it was a Jack Webb quirk, but the movie referenced above wasn't a Webb production. Where is Bill Walsh when we need him? Bill remains the best I've ever encountered in the "Grammar Geekery" line, although I have to give some serious props to leleboo as well (an English degree from Harvard in three years? Hello ...) As a professed logophile, my inbox informs me of the word of the day. I kinda wish there was an application to revive vernacular of era's gone by. I prefer "hinky", to sketch, "bunco" to hustler, and so on. For this reason, I enjoy watching old films that showcase dialogue that include beautiful vocabulary , rather than calling your partner boo, or citing things as "lit". Call me a fuddy duddy, but I long for the days where I can have a conversation where I can hang on every word. Literally. kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 This is a side comment about archaic words and their usage on the internet. At some point between 5-10 years ago I used the word "dunderhead" with a public figure and an event (everything in a title of a page). Dunderhead; another word that is archaic and in progressively less usage over time and has been for a long time. A little period afterwards some person in that forum referenced that the page (a post in a forum) is ranked #1 in google for the person's name and dunderhead. It still is. Now last l looked at data there are an estimated 4.6 billion pages on the internet. Why is that page still ranked first in google and bing.com for "dunderhead (person's name)? Because nobody else has ever attached that antiquated word to that person's name. 4.6 billion pages and it hasn't been replicated. Well the word dunderhead is rarely used. If you want to get a feel for how rarely, use google trends. Its an interesting and sometimes fun tool. According to one source synonyms for dunderhead (when thought of as a dunce) include: birdbrain, blockhead, dork, ignoramus, nincompoop, nitwit, etc. If you want to get a sense of how often dunderhead is used (on the web) vs these and other synonyms use google trends. Take a look at dunderhead usage since 2004.(you can do it for just the US or in any nation) Then compare it to various terms above. As you try this add and subtract words from the comparison. When I did this for dunderhead its usage paled in comparison to most of the "synonyms" I tried. Its usage is minimal. Try it with "hinky" or any other word whose usage has disappeared over time. There is always an exception to every rule. Because of its usage and subsequent reporting and reprinting the word "dotard" has surged into popularity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 How about "boner" as an archaic word? I'm talking about the kind of boner that means something along the lines of "stupid mistake". I had a co-worker who would use the word without looking to get a laugh. It was just part of his vocabulary. I knew what he meant (and stifled a laugh) when he'd say, "I made a boner", but who uses that anymore? He was from the Tidewater region-- is it part of the local lexicon? He was also a chef. Maybe that had something to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 5 hours ago, Al Dente said: How about "boner" as an archaic word? I'm talking about the kind of boner that means something along the lines of "stupid mistake". I had a co-worker who would use the word without looking to get a laugh. It was just part of his vocabulary. I knew what he meant (and stifled a laugh) when he'd say, "I made a boner", but who uses that anymore? He was from the Tidewater region-- is it part of the local lexicon? He was also a chef. Maybe that had something to do with it. LOL - I remember seeing a cartoon (from the 1940s?) where the narrator said, "and then, he went and pulled a boner," meaning "made a mistake." I was also thinking this afternoon about "Doughboy" (most people will need to look this one up), or along similar lines as "hinky" and "bunco" ... "Gumshoe," meaning a Private Dick. Oops, I guess that's archaic, too! You hear it a fair amount in genuine Film Noir. For that matter, when's the last time you've heard "groovy" or "far out" in a serious conversation? Police being called "fuzz?" "Cool," on the other hand, seems to be surviving the test of time. How about "hep cat?" or "square?" 10-20 years older still. (Remember the Flintstones episode when Betty and Wilma spread rumors that Hi-Fi, i.e., Fred during his beatnick, mid-life crisis, was a "square?") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 Family Guy Film Noir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 18, 2018 Author Share Posted February 18, 2018 I literally just laughed out loud when I saw "suburban" used as a derogatory adjective here: May 27, 1987 - "Sports of the Times; Bird Stole the Ball" on nytimes.com I think a similar term now in use among Gen Y / Millenials is "basic," as in, someone who lives in a McMansion and drinks Starbucks lattes is "basic." BTW, Tom, in case you think I'm always criticizing, I love that you use the word "festooned" (the problem being that festooned is the type of home-run word you can only use about ten times in your career). PS - *Not* belittling you; questioning the entrenched system itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 The word "actress" has been leaving our lexicon in the past year - I've been noticing this in recent weeks, and the trend is consistent and strong: People are using the word "actor" for both sexes. Expect other professions to follow - but don't expect European (Germanic and Latin) languages to follow suit anytime soon. However, if the word falls out-of-favor in America, then the Academy Awards are going to have themselves one hell of a dilemma. God I'm smart. Does "out of favor," used as an adverb, contain hyphens? God I'm ignorant. Should there be a comma after addressing God? Should hell be capitalized in this situation? If so, then with how much money? God I'm ... me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted October 25, 2018 Author Share Posted October 25, 2018 In "Mildred Pierce" (1945), the younger daughter said, in reply to being criticized, "Oh, pretzels! What do I care?" with "Oh, pretzels!" being used in the exact same manner as Scarlett O'Hara saying, "Oh, fiddledeedee!" I've never heard this before in my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 On 11/13/2017 at 4:32 PM, Al Dente said: How about "boner" as an archaic word? I'm talking about the kind of boner that means something along the lines of "stupid mistake". I had a co-worker who would use the word without looking to get a laugh. It was just part of his vocabulary. I knew what he meant (and stifled a laugh) when he'd say, "I made a boner", but who uses that anymore? He was from the Tidewater region-- is it part of the local lexicon? He was also a chef. Maybe that had something to do with it. The first person to translate "The Princess and the Pea" into English: Charles Boner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 I'm not sure this merits its own thread, but "mustn't" is a word that I almost never see, which, if someone had asked me how to spell, I might have gotten wrong. Also, "parlous," which essentially means "perilous" - what's the deal with this word? I'd never seen or heard of it before this evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dracisk Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 On 1/12/2019 at 12:20 AM, DonRocks said: The first person to translate "The Princess and the Pea" into English: Charles Boner. I have a friend who has a pair of friends who are a married couple. The wife's maiden name was Blob, and the husband's name was Boner. The wife decided to hyphenate her name when she married, so her married name was [First Name] Blob-Boner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 On 3/29/2019 at 1:28 PM, dracisk said: I have a friend who has a pair of friends who are a married couple. The wife's maiden name was Blob, and the husband's name was Boner. The wife decided to hyphenate her name when she married, so her married name was [First Name] Blob-Boner. Is this Mya, Neyla, or Lola? PS - There's a Blob's Park in Jessup, MD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 30, 2019 Author Share Posted July 30, 2019 Flummery 1. empty compliments; nonsense. "She hated the flummery of public relations." 2. a sweet dish made with beaten eggs, milk, sugar, and flavorings. <--- Does anyone know what this is? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saf Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 20 hours ago, DonRocks said: Flummery 2. a sweet dish made with beaten eggs, milk, sugar, and flavorings. <--- Does anyone know what this is? I did some googling. It appears that it is either Welsh or Irish and has a long history. It looks nasty to me, but the modern versions appear to be set with jello, and I don't eat gelatin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmoomau Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 17 hours ago, saf said: I did some googling. It appears that it is either Welsh or Irish and has a long history. It looks nasty to me, but the modern versions appear to be set with jello, and I don't eat gelatin. From the ingredients it seemed a lot like a custard to me. This doesn't look terrible: https://www.saveur.com/sickles-blackberry-flummery-recipe/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 This 1942 review of "Suspicion" describes Cary Grant's character as a "blatherskite." Apr 8, 2006 - "From the Archives: a Look Back with 'Suspicion' and an 1941 Opinion that Stands the Test of Time" by Edwin Schallert on latimes.com 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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