The Oldie comp: Definitions by 10th January
 

I can't say I remember this type of thing in The Oldie comp before. Some of The Washington Post-ers are good at this kind of thing (Roger, for instance!) and it does look like fun, so the best of luck with it.

Jayne

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxThe Oldie Competitionxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxby Tessa Castro

COMPETITION NO 172

In 2013 there was much unseemly interest in the new word ‘twerk’. Without limiting yourself to low meanings, please provide a snappy new definition and a sentence exemplifying the new meaning for each of these words: booly, jaunce, tytyfer, maumy, pronk, looper, raffinose, hendship. Maximum 160 words.

Entries to ‘Competition No 172’ by post (The Oldie, 65 Newman Street, London W1T 3EG), fax (020 7436 8804) or email (comps@theoldie.co.uk) by 10 January 2014.

Uxbridge English Dictionary!

[groan ...]

Is 'raffi nose' intended to be 2 words? 'Raffinose' exists.

Well. I suppose
A raffi nose
Is what you smell your farts with;
A mention of sprouts
To quell our doubts
Is the kick that Christmas starts with.

(Bah! Humbug...)

I think two words, Bazza. A lot of the words exist, but I suppose they want something different.

As they specify a snappy NEW definition, i.e a subjective, fanciful one that will have everyone pissing themselves with laughter as opposed to the mundane literal one to be found in the dico, all the words should exist. But why, uniquely, include a two-word phrase that semantically limits compers (already unfairly limited by some warning hint about eschewing the filth that makes this whole damn comping chore worthwhile)?

Incidentally, I did piss myself laughing at Ann's intervention. Auden writes somewhere that we all enjoy the sight of our own handwriting as we do the smell of our own farts. Not true. I hate longhand.

As you say, Bazza.

booly: abbrev. booly goy. Perhaps big goolies. Non-jewish boy with unfettered sexual urges. 'Harry Styles is a right booly.'

jaunce: portmanteau word: jump + prance + saunter. To move like a male ballet dancer. 'Harry Styles jaunces like a fairy.'

tytyfer: a ridiculously small hat worn at parties. 'Go branksom in thy tytyfer.' (Chaucer: The Reeve's Tale)

maumy: a noise like a cat or an infant trodden on inadvertently. to sing like Al Jolson. 'He maumies in lowdown bars.' (Raymond Chandler)

pronk: to dress dutch (dutch pronk: finery), to dress badly. 'Nay, Laertes, pronk not in fine array' (Shakespeare; Hamlet)

looper: pervert who hangs around outside public lavatories. 'Avaunt, thou filthy looper, get thee hence!' (Shakespeare; King John)

raffi nose: or ruffi nose: the ability to sniff out date-rape drugs. 'Give her a miss; she has a raffi nose.' (Date-Rape Diary)

hendship: (hend: sweet girl) a boatload of beautiful women. 'Behold thysse hendschyppe of popeloties!' (Chaucer; The Shipman's Tale)

I think it's actually 'looper', John.

I think those are great, John, particularly with the accompanying 'literary' references. I reckon you're on the podium.

I'm beyond impressed that a gentleman of your vintage knows who Harry Styles is.

pronk cider so rough as to be undrinkable. 'This batch made from
GM apples is pure pronk'.

looper in cricket a ball that confuses the batsman by looping the loop in flight 'That looper really had Clarke's eyes crossing before it bowled him'

booly equivalent of geek in mathematical world. 'He's a real booly. Takes problems to bed to solve.'

jaunce to self-destruct through nerves 'Cook really jaunced his chances with that golden duck'

Er . . .

So it is too, Jeremy. Pity. Loofer is a much better word. But looper will do. Loo pervert eh?

I read the Sun at the hairdresser's. Of course I know who Harry Styles is. A first order prat.

Bill Greenwell, eye-witness to an actual copy of the Oldie, informs me that 'raffinose' is one word.

Quite right, Bazza. I get the Oldie too but didn't bother to check. Thank you.

So sorry, folks, that was my mistake. :o

I get the results sent to me by one of The Oldie staff as a pdf, and words with "fi" in them always get split apart, for some reason, like "fi nally" for example; I transfer the whole text to a Word document and delete the spaces, but I missed that one! I've now corrected it at the top of the thread.

Jayne

Well, blast. I already sent an entry with "raffinose" as two words.

RAFFI NOSE: Able to find truffles under the snow. "That there's the most raffi nose pig I ever had."

What kind of maumy pronk would have set a competition like this? I haven't entered it - I've more than enough to do without responding to every booly looper who thinks I should jaunce my poor old tytyfer on such rubbish. Hendship is one thing, and I'm all for it. But I refuse to get down on my knees to raffinose the judges.

For the sake of hendship, I support Brian, he's not such a pronk as he seems. I'll not raffinose my talents on a booly of a looper like this, I'll tytyfer the next maumy in the hope of a successful jaunce.

Those are great, Sylvia and Brian! I almost lost my loopers laughing!

Sorry not to have had time to enter this one. The only definition I managed was:

tytyfer: n. referring to a man’s hairy chest. Some gentlemen prefer to depilate their tytyfer.

...but that was probably too much of a "low meaning" for this comp anyway.