simpleton, you

simpleton, you
   ‘Is that poetry, you poor simpleton?’ asks a man of his friend, in Magnus Merriman, by Eric Linklater. Simpleton first appears in the mid-seventeenth century, apparently a fanciful formation based on simple and inspired by last names such as Newton. There was at one time a similar ‘idleton’, which did not survive.
   ‘Simpleton’ itself has not survived especially well, though it was given a new lease of life when American college students shortened it to ‘simp’. ‘You simp’ would have been heard in the early part of the twentieth century being bandied about on campuses, and may still be used by those who were students at the time. It occurs, for example, in one of the Isaac Asimov short stories.

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • simpleton — [[t]sɪ̱mp(ə)ltən[/t]] simpletons N COUNT (disapproval) If you call someone a simpleton, you think they are easily deceived or not very intelligent. But Ian s such a simpleton , she laughed... He was a lightweight, a political simpleton …   English dictionary

  • The Mayor of Simpleton — Infobox Single Name = The Mayor of Simpleton Artist = XTC from Album = Oranges Lemons B side = Released = January 1989 Format = 7 , CD single Recorded = 1988 Genre = Rock Length = 3:58 Label = Virgin Writer = Andy Partridge Producer = Paul Fox… …   Wikipedia

  • mug, you —    ‘What do you mean, you mug?’ says a male American speaker to another man, in Mae West’s The Pleasure Man. In the Laurel and Hardy film Pack up your Troubles a sergeant addresses a group of soldiers as ‘you mugs’. A Salute to the Great McCarthy …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • goon, you —    This is roughly the equivalent of ‘you dope’, ‘you sap’ when used by an American wife to her husband in Rabbit is Rich, by John Updike. Arthur Hailey, in Hotel, has a young man call a girl ‘you fool, you stupid goon’ when she bites him while… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • chuff, you —    This word was once in general use but is perhaps now dialectal. ‘Listen to this, you chuff,’ says a speaker in Magnus Merriman, by Eric Linklater. He equates it with ‘you simpleton’ and ‘you country slab’. ‘Chuff’ actually means either a clown …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • The Immortal Bard — Infobox short story | name = The Immortal Bard title orig = translator = author = Isaac Asimov country = United States language = English series = genre = Science fiction short story publication type = Periodical published in = Universe Science… …   Wikipedia

  • simp — n. a simpleton. □ You are such a simp! □ Why did some simp feel it necessary to do this? …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • sap —    An abbreviated form of earlier terms such as ‘saphead’, ‘sapskull’, or ‘sap pate’, all of which meant having a head made of sapwood. The term is therefore similar to ‘block head’, and means a fool, or simpleton. ‘You sap’ is used by an… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • Back to Methuselah — (A Metabiological Pentateuch), by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface (An Infidel Half Century) and a series of five plays: In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden), The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day, The Thing… …   Wikipedia

  • Sean Paul — aux Grammy Awards en 2007. Surnom Sean Paul, SP Nom Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques Naissanc …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”