Driving back yesterday from a
baking hot very damp Devon (one afternoon on the beach - wearing a waterproof - does not a holiday maketh), we were in need of a fillip. And Radio 4's Hobson-Jobson:
A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of
Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive did the job; a thoroughly riveting thirty minutes charting the story of the Colonial-Indian dictionary; how it was conceived, written, published and in the 21st century, despite the fact that the days of Raj and Empire are long gone, the lexicon lives on.
Hurdy-gurdy, hugger-mugger, higgledy-piggledy, hocus-pocus, tit-for-tat, topsy-turvy, harum-scarum, roly-poly, nirvana, pyjamas, bungalow and juggernaut are proof indeed (no need to watch Goodness Gracious Me re-runs) that if these words didn't exist we'd have to invent them. It's still up on the
iplayer if you missed it.
Sorry to hear about the washed-out holiday, but thanks for the heads-up regarding the documentary.
ReplyDeleteI heard this, John - wasn't it a great little programme? The sort of thing that reminds me how happy I am to pay my licence fee. Just the thing to cheer up a watery end to a UK break.
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated by words, especially ones that have unexpected origins - a friend had also mentioned this programme to me and your post is a reminder that I must give it a listen on the i-player. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the wet holiday, very much a topsy-turvy old summer.
I thought bungalow was when the builders got fed up and said "Bung a low roof on it"... boom boom... I thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds right up my alley, thanks for the tip (double entendres ahoy).
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone, cushty!
ReplyDeletehokey-dokey piddly pokey ...loving this playing!!
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