My first thought on seeing the word flambustious was that it must have to do with the flammability of an object.
But I was WRONG.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
According to Americanisms, Old and New by John Stephen Farmer, flambustious is defined as follows:
Showy; gaudy; or applied to enjoyment, good; as "we will have a flambustious time." If, as is asserted, this word is derived from "flam," a lie or cheat, a certain transition of meaning has occurred.No foolin'!
I wondered if I could find out anything more about this word. I noodled around on the internet a bit, and found this enticing clip, which appears in The Beloit College Monthly, Editors L. S. Swezey, W. C. Bailey, G. W. Christie, Volume XIV, October 1867, in the article "A New School of Romance," p. 175 (courtesy of the blog Words and Phrases from the Past):
Wow... look at those words: busticate, dumfoodle-doode (?? is that even a real word ??), doddi-poljolt.
In any case, it's all quite delightful, and I hope you can find an opportunity to incorporate flambustious into your conversation in the coming week...
 |
| Kick up your heels and have a flambustious time! [Moulin Rouge-La Goulue, Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de (1891)] |
Posts
4 comments:
My sense is that we live in a time of one word (one syllable or part thereof) communication. Millennials might think I was cursing them.
Hi Liz! It's true that the current-day "units of language" seem to favor the short. I love the lengthy permutations in some of the expressions of old... You'd have to be quite the orator (or actor) these days to rattle off the speech "John's father" gives in this post. :-)
Perhaps that is why we enjoy reading and, in your case, writing.
Hi Liz!
That is at least part of the pleasure. :-) I love unearthing bits of language that is part of the past... I guess I love being a verbal archaeologist!
Post a Comment