Meerkat Prompts: Tittynope
Once before, I wrote a post about a fascinating old word. It has fallen out of use (as have many old words), in an interesting demonstration of the evolution of language. This word also drew the giggles from one particular person (yes Ariel, I am looking at you!). After all, ‘tittynope’ does seem rather absurd, and it does, at first glance, appear to convey a very different meaning to what it actually means!
‘Tittynope’ refers to having a small portion of leftovers after a meal. ‘There is a tittynope of cake left on that plate’, to offer but one example. It is one of several old-fashioned words that look rather rude to us, but back in the day were innocent expressions. The word ‘fuksheet’ has nothing to do with, err, fornication, and instead refers a sail. ‘Dick-pots’ were little pots filled with warm embers, that women would place under their dresses to keep warm. I know what you’re thinking, ladies using dicks to keep warm… let’s not go there!
Somewhere along the line, language changed and evolved to render some words completely outmoded, and change the meaning of others. This continues to happen to this very day. ‘Woody’ can mean ‘the smell of wood’. It is also a slang term for something else! It’s pretty fascinating to look at how words have changed, or simply vanished, down the years. Take the word ‘groak’ for example. It means ‘to silently watch someone eat, in the hopes of being invited to join them’. ‘Snoutfair’ may sound like a reference to a pig market, but it’s actually a compliment! It refers to a good-looking person, believe it or not!
Finally, there’s… well, it’s not so much of a word, more an expression, ‘with squirrel’. It was a term used in the 1950s, and it referred to women who were expecting in six months time. I have no idea as to the origins of this expression, and I am certainly not prepared to use it!
What about you, dear ‘kats? Do you know of any old words that you perhaps wish were still in use? Do you use any expressions that might be considered unusual? Let me know!
