Folklore: Slang words

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: GUEST,Azizi
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 08:50 AM

And I suppose if we Americans[ of whatever race and ethnicity]learned to sing all those old English folk songs, there would be no need for 'invented' songs after-what?-the 18th century...

Yeah, right. [said with much sarcasm]

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Azizi
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 08:48 AM

And I suppose if we [colonials of whatever race and ethnicity]learned all those old English folk songs, there would be no need for 'invented' songs after-what?-the 18th century...

Yeah, right. [said with much sarcasm]

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Leadfingers
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 08:33 AM

I personally think it would be a reasonable improvement if the 'average' American learned to speak English .














Ducks down and Runs like Hell !!!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 08:22 AM

Yep, there ain't no bad students, jest bad teacherz.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: GUEST,Nellie Clatt
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 03:02 AM

If you lot learned how to speak the Queens English properly you wouldn't need any stupid invented words.

Gawd what a lousy bloody job we did in teaching you colonials.

Talk about estuary English

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Azizi
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 01:06 AM

Chip2447,

Since we [African Americans] are always alert to words [and music]that we can take hold of and use as is or, more often, stretch and re-shape for our creative purposes, it's quite possible that "the term hoopty predates hip hop".

You wrote "Around here a crest in the road used to be called whoopty do, or a hoopty do. and any car that you drove over a hoopty do fast enough to get air under all four tires was called a hoopty, enough hooptying and you wound up with a broken down old car. "

May I respectfully ask where 'here' is, when it was that these words were used, and by which ethnic or age group? And would you share your thoughts on why these terms were used for a broken down old car?

Thank you.


Azizi

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Chip2447
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 12:02 AM

Around here a crest in the road used to be called whoopty do, or a hoopty do. and any car that you drove over a hoopty do fast enough to get air under all four tires was called a hoopty, enough hooptying and you wound up with a broken down old car.

I suspect that the term hoopty predates hip hop.

Chip2447

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: sixtieschick
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 12:00 AM

I love inserting old, out-of-date slang expressions into "intellectual" dialogue for contrast.

golly gee
gee whilickers
geez Louise
scuttlebutt
it's the berries
heavens to Betsy
boy howdy
brother, you ain't kiddin'
birds-eye lowdown
my stars

etc.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: coldjam
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 11:57 PM

All I gotta say is "Faaaar out!"

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: khandu
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 11:47 PM

"I do NOT love new slang words.....I come very close to despising new slang that is created just in order to be different and stay ahead of everyone else....much of it, as 'hooptie', bears little direct resemblance to what it purports to describe. It is a divisive, confusing, awkward way to advance communication.

Some slang used to be clever, useful and relevant, even if you didn't use it yourself....but much of today's is just random babble.

what, me? opinionated and outdated? naaawwwww......."

Copy that!!

k

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Azizi
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 11:44 PM

Could "hoopty" be the folk process at work?

hoopty from -whoop or whoopie?

Is it possible that people let out a whoop {a yell?; a laugh?} when they saw someone's broke down, beat up car. And this happened so much that they started calling the cars a "whoop+tee" {the 'tee' added to make it sound better}. And eventually {since we Americans just feel we need to simplify things}, the 'w' was dropped, and there ya go-we ended up with the word "hoopty"...

On the other hand, maybe "hoop" was created to rhyme with 'coup' {you know, like the car} and then the 'tee' was added-to make it sound better...

Hey, who knows whether any of these theories or the one I gave earlier are real...

In other words, where did the word "hoopty" come from?

Your guess is as good as mine.


Sista Azizi

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 10:05 PM

A whoop is a short distance. A whoop and a holler is a little farther. Two whoops and a holler is farther yet.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Teresa
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 10:01 PM

I think that a lot of the evolution of language comes from experimentation and slang. Someone had to invent every single usage in the language at one point and another, and in my opinion, the more it changes, the more alive it is.

Having said that, I don't know a lot of the modern slang anymore, but that's just because I don't move in the same circles as urban and younger folk. For awhile, I was going to poetry readings that attracted a lot of slammers, and I also went to protests that featured underground hip-hop groups. But since I've moved to the suburbs and far away, I don't encounter it much anymore. Now it's "do lunch" and "power walks". :-P

Teresa

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Kaleea
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 09:42 PM

My father tells me that "whoopie" was used by the old timers for automobiles, & before that, a buggy drawn by horse(s). Daddy says that one had to "whoop the horses to get 'em goin'." [I my day, a "whoopin'" was a hard spanking.] His Daddy & his "Granpap" came from around the border of Texas & Oklahoma, and I have heard a great deal of oldtimey talkin'.   I heard his father as well as my Irish Grandad use the term "whoopie" meaning a vehicle. My Irish Grandad never drove any whoopie except for one drawn by a horse or mule.
   Notice the term "Granpap" short for "Grandpappy?" The old timers--especially the Irish but others too, according to my Daddy, used the terms "Pappy" and "Mammy" for their parents, thus Grandpappy & Grandmammy.   As in "Mammy Yokem" & "Pappy Yokem" of the Lil Abner comic strip.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Sorcha
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 09:26 PM

Thank you Zi, and,

Now, Bill, mah main man, ya gotta get up on this here stuff. Get yer hooptie detailed and
git on down an cruise the main line a bit....be good for ya, aiiright?

Grin....Sorry, sistah Zi.....

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Azizi
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 06:15 PM

Sorry-here I go again...

I don't have a clue why that 'at' is in the sentence that is supposed to read: "Wheels are round and hoops are round"

****

I just asked by 32 year old daughter does she how old does she think the word 'hoopty' is...She said she remembers it from when she was in high school and mentioned a song by Sir Mix-a-lot that talked about a tail pipe dragging on his hoopty.

According to an interesting [to me] website called 'Slang City', "bucket" is another word for slang. When I mentioned this to my daughter she said, and I quote "Oh, Mom, that is so old..that's even older than 'hoopty'. Where've you been?"

I just shrugged my shoulders and kept on typin...
   
See this quote from Slang City "Hoopty (sometimes hooptie) is a another word for bucket often heard in rap music, such as 50 Cent's 21 Questions. Older synonyms include the vintage tin lizzie (1910s) and struggle-buggy (1920s), as well as my personal favorite from later in the twentieth century, crapmobile"....

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Azizi
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 05:54 PM

So some folks don't like certain group's slang? Well, to each his [or her] own...Different strokes for different folks..What's good for the goose may not be good for the gander.

And all that Jazz..

It aint no biggy if someone doesn't like another persons's creative expressions, or doesn't at all see it at creative..or doesn't "get it" or attributes purposes to it that may not even be near to what it's all about for all who are 'down with it' any or all the time.

But since mainstream Western culture [USA and otherwise] has so often looked to Black folks to add new life to its language, then if people want to be hip to the jive, they have to at least try to be up on [down with] Hip-Hop languaging. 'Cause-as much as Hip-Hop has sold its soul to the capitolist system and has crowned bling bling as its god, it is still where much of this nation's creative energy is.

As to 'hoopty' to discribe an old, beat up car that is usually large and held together with duct tape and a prayer...that word is actually at least 15 years old. I believe that the word comes from Hip-Hop culture and is routinely used in Hip-Hop jams such as 50 Cent's hit rap "21 Questions" as here "If I went back to a hoopty from a Benz, would you poof and disappear like
some of my friends?"

Where did the word "Hoopty" come from? My theory is that it came from a previous colloquial term for motor vehicles: "wheels". At all wheels are round and a hoop is also round. So...

But that's just a guess.


Azizi

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 05:29 PM

As another Mudcatter has put it, new ephemeral words are argot, not slang.
The word must go into common usage to be slang- or at least reach puberty.

Hoop-de-dooden-do! (A 19th c. phrase no longer used).

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 05:23 PM

Cripes Sorcha - don mean ta be flamboasting - but if that gets you off you will have a GREAT Time at:

http://www.rapdict.org/

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Folklore: Slang words
From: Bill D
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 04:57 PM

I do NOT love new slang words.....I come very close to despising new slang that is created just in order to be different and stay ahead of everyone else....much of it, as 'hooptie', bears little direct resemblance to what it purports to describe. It is a divisive, confusing, awkward way to advance communication.

Some slang used to be clever, useful and relevant, even if you didn't use it yourself....but much of today's is just random babble.

what, me? opinionated and outdated? naaawwwww.......

Subject: Folklore: Slang words
From: Sorcha
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 03:14 PM

I love 'new' slang words. Newest to me is 'hooptie' or 'hoop' meaning beat up old car. It's inner city (at least Wash DC and environs) black, drug culture ghetto slang. Came froma rap song, but why 'hooptie'? Where did it come from?

Sistah Azzizi, you might know this....or some of the DC/Silver Spring folks.