Subject: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Little Hawk Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:29 PM There seems to be a local expression around here that goes this way: "Hey, take a boo at this..." "So I had a boo at the damage to the fender and..." A what?????? I can never believe it when I hear people saying to take a "boo" at something when they mean to look at it...but that's what some people say around here, including 2 good friends of mine. I think it's weird. What I want to know is...is it a widespread expression or is it something that's strictly limited to the Barrie-Orillia area in central Ontario, Canada? Could it be because of the water here? ;-) The reason I ask is, I have only heard 2 or 3 people EVER use the word "boo" in that fashion, and they were all from the Barrie-Orillia area. So I'm doing some research. Where and when did the expression "to take a boo" at something originate, what is its derivation, and how widespread is this expression? |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Rapparee Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:41 PM Never heard of it. Maybe it's from "peek-a-boo". |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: GUEST,Bardford Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:43 PM I think these guys started it. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: catspaw49 Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:43 PM Hey Man.....I can give you a few clues of what to do if you do a boo and find blue poo glued on your new shoe...........aw fuck it....... Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: GUEST,Barford Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:52 PM Have a gander at this: Maybe it is somehow related to tickety-boo • adjective Brit. informal, dated- "in good order." — ORIGIN perhaps from a Hindi phrase meaning 'all right'. Found at askoxford.com I've heard it out west here too LH. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Little Hawk Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:52 PM I don't believe it! LOL! The "Take-a-Boo" Emporium. (the link our guest provided) And it's on Avenue Road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Hmmm. The plot thickens. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Little Hawk Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:53 PM Perhaps it does have something to do with "peek-a-boo". I hadn't thought of that before. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Lepus Rex Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:58 PM Well, I was going to say that it started in Barrie, most likely, because people from Barrie are idiots. Because I had a bad experience there once, and I like to believe it's true, but... I also found that antique store, linked above by GUEST,Bardford, and according to the owner, it's "Old English for take a look at everything." So maybe ask one of the old English bastards who infest this place. They'll know. :D ---Lepus Rex |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Little Hawk Date: 15 Oct 07 - 11:14 PM Ah hah! The mystery is solved! Or solv-ED...as Inspector Clouseau would say... Old English, eh? Thanks, Lepus! I shall get confirmation from the next old English bastard I happen to meet. As you say, they're thick around here... |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Ebbie Date: 16 Oct 07 - 12:26 AM So: instead of saying 'Take a peek', one now says 'Take a boo'? Not me. I'm tired. I can't even keep up with fashion in clothing and cars. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: gnu Date: 16 Oct 07 - 04:46 AM Been around for a gog's age. A peek is a quick or furtive look at something. But, a boo is when you examine something closely because you are engaged or are in someway taken aback by it, indeed, surprised, as in "boo!". |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: gnu Date: 16 Oct 07 - 04:47 AM Now... what's a gog? |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Backwoodsman Date: 16 Oct 07 - 04:59 AM No idea, but my ag is frequently og. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: gnu Date: 16 Oct 07 - 05:11 AM Hmmmm... "Been around for a dog's age.) ??? I say that all the time. But, most dogs don't lives long enough to make that old saying meaningful. I could understand saying, "Been around for a tortoise's age." ... or a parrot or a redwood tree... maybe if you use dog years? |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: ragdall Date: 16 Oct 07 - 06:52 AM I've heard the expression used in BC but only by old people. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Michael Date: 16 Oct 07 - 07:41 AM Could it be some form of contraction for 'Take a butcher's'(butcher's hook = look)? Mike |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Bob the Postman Date: 16 Oct 07 - 08:28 AM I vote for derivation from "peek-a-boo". I am from B. C., and might qualify for old at 57, I suppose, you impertinent young whippersnapper. I first heard the expression circa 1970, I think, when it was current among a troop of student nurses with whom I was fortunate enough to associate. One of them was a private school girl and I think she might have introduced it. I am surprised that the term isn't universally familiar. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: *daylia* Date: 16 Oct 07 - 09:27 AM I wasn't going to say boo here, but I'm just a Barrie idiot so I can't resist. Have a boo at this, LH "To say boo "open one's mouth, speak," originally was to say boo to a goose". There you go. It is from Old English. And I imagine it would work just as well on a cow. So hey -- let's go out cowtipping after dark, k LH? We'll sneak up on em, give em a BOOOO, and presto -- beef on the side! Or rather, a side of beef ... or maybe, just dinner on the hoof? |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Peace Date: 16 Oct 07 - 09:34 AM Boo is also an older name for grass which is another name for Mary Jane which is . . . . |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: *daylia* Date: 16 Oct 07 - 09:39 AM Hey, just took a longer boo at the page I linked to above and noticed this! boo 2 (bôô) Pronunciation Key n. Slang Marijuana. [Origin unknown.]" Wow. Pretty cagey, those Yanks. Gives a whole new meaning to "They really got booed at the song circle last night". |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Metchosin Date: 16 Oct 07 - 11:18 AM I will second Bob the Postman. The expression was in common usage here in BC at one time. Haven't heard it in many years though, either. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Vixen Date: 16 Oct 07 - 11:28 AM I dunno, but I'm willing to bet the phrase enjoys a sudden surge in currency after all this discussion. To be honest, I didn't know "butcher's hook" was the Cockney Rhyming Slang for "look"...I thought it was "book", which might easily morph into boo' Folk Etymology...what fun! V |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Mrrzy Date: 16 Oct 07 - 11:40 AM They used to say A coon's age, but people in the US found that racist (a coon can be a racoon or a nigger, apparently). |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Peace Date: 16 Oct 07 - 11:42 AM How fucking eloquent! |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Little Hawk Date: 16 Oct 07 - 11:46 AM Yeah, that's right. Hey, Peace, remember that goofy hippy song "You, and Me, and a Dog Named Boo"? Perhaps that was a sly reference to marijuana too. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Peace Date: 16 Oct 07 - 11:51 AM Remember it? I put many quarters in the juke box over that one, LH. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Irene M Date: 16 Oct 07 - 02:26 PM My money as also on butcher's hook. Look. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Bob the Postman Date: 17 Oct 07 - 07:21 AM Some folks at work reckon "take a boo" is chickspeak. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Mooh Date: 17 Oct 07 - 08:47 AM Sheesh, been saying that all my (and my kin's) life. But I've lived my whole life within a few hours of Orillia, so what's my excuse? Here's having a boo at you, kid. Peace, Mooh. |
Subject: RE: BS: Take a 'boo' (???) at this? A what????? From: Bob the Postman Date: 18 Oct 07 - 04:45 PM Honey Bees make honey. But what kind of bees make milk. Boo Bees |