The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #55594 Message #865506
Posted By: Robin
12-Jan-03 - 07:55 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Finding of Moses / Pharaoh's Daughter
Subject: RE: Finding of Moses / Pharoah's Daughter
Martin:
(jumping a response to your post on singing skivvy vs. slavey in Moses, which was magic ...):
" The Penguin Dictionary of historical slang has the folowing:
skivvy A maid servant, especially a rough (one). General from around 1905 . Ex SLAVEY. "
That's more-or-less word-for-word taken from Eric Patridge's (earlier)_Historical Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English_.
... oh god, I'm being stupid -- you're quoting Partridge. Sorry, I think of it as Partridge rather than Penguin.
That's exactly (a bit of) what the issue turns on -- the relation of "slavey" to "skivvy".
It's becoming totally muddled -- already, one person is on review on poetryetc over this (via a baroque interpretation of the Australian Libel Laws). You really +wouldn't+ believe ...