Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Needs must when the devil drives

 

I was zipping along writing a scene when the phrase needs must when the devil drives floated into my mind. It sounded like it would fit right in with what I was fashioning on the page, but I needed to be sure that (1) I understood the meaning and (2) it was "period" enough.

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According to World Wide Words, this phrase—or rather, an early permutation—appears in 1420 in John Lydgate's Assembly of Gods, as follows: "He must nedys go that the deuell dryves." Something similar shows up in Shakespeare's All’s Well that Ends Well: "My poor body, madam, requires it: I am driven on by the flesh; and he must needs go that the devil drives."

World Wide Words adds that the semi-archaic needs must is an idiom in and of itself, meaning "necessity compels," and provided a nice definition of the entire phrase:

[I]f the devil drives you, you have no choice but to go, or in other words, sometimes events compel you to do something you would much rather not.

If you are curious about needs must, you can read more about it here, on The Grammarphobia Blog.

My takeaway: My fictional 1882 character could definitely think needs must when the devil drives, take a deep breath, and do what must be done.

Who's driving now?
By Roberts [artist] This file comes from the Bodleian Libraries, a group of research libraries in Oxford University. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47060855

Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Helter-skelter

I am probably showing my age, but the first thing that pops to mind when I see the term helter-skelter is the song of that title by The Beatles (see YouTube clip below).

Well, I also think of the murderer Charles Manson (ack!)... which also probably shows my age.

However, the phrase go way way back... many centuries, in fact.
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The definition from my copy of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Tenth edition) gives definitions for its use as a noun, an adjective, and an adverb.... take your choice!

• noun — 1. a disorderly confusion: turmoil; 2. a spiral slide around a tower at an amusement park (<--now I understand The Beatles song a little better!).
• adjective — 1. confusedly hurried: precipitate; 2. marked by a lack of order or plan: haphazard.
• adverb — 1. in undue haste, confusion, or disorder; 2. in a haphazard manner.

Helter-skelter!
[By Steve F, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13743455]

As for the years of first use? How about 1713 for the noun, 1785 for the adjectival form, and 1593 for the adverb!

I shouldn't be surprised, because now I also recall that Shakespeare used it... although I had to go digging to find out where (Henry IV, Part II).



The Phrase Finder has a nifty post on helter-skelter, which is sort-of, semi-related to harum-scarum, hurly-burly, and pell-mell.

Finally, as promised, here is your musical interlude, straight from '68.

Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: When the usual four-letter words just aren't good enough

Sometimes a little cursing (or a lot) is in order, and the usual four-letter words (with an occasional five- or seven-letter word) just don't cut it. Well, don't despair, because this week's slang-o-rama is here to help you get creative with your swearing and insults!

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To my mind, Shakespeare wears the crown as the king of insult. Peruse his plays, and you'll see what I mean. Next time some politician gets your goat, try snarling "There’s no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune." (Henry IV Part 1, Act 3, Scene 3) or "Thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows." (Troilus and Cressida, Act 2, Scene 1) and see if you don't feel better!

There are also many random Shakespearean (or Elizabethian) insult generators.

Like the sound of  "Thou venomed guts-griping popinjay!"? Then I invite you to check out the Shakespearean Insulter.

How about "Thou are an ordinary maltworm!" For similar invectives, head over to Shakespeare's Insult Generator.

If you need multiple insults to choose from (or maybe just a whole bunch of folks you'd like to unload on), then there's the Elizabethan Curse Generator, where you can ask for any number of curses at one time... 10, 100, 1000... go for it! (I am particularly fond of "Thou craven plume-plucked jolthead!")

Have kids around, so want to "watch your language?" Then you might want to try something like the Fantasy Swear Word Generator, which throws out such marvels as "Shoodlepoppers!" "Friscuit!" and "Feeble pheasant!" 

This is all well and good, but what about my favorite timeframe, the 19th century West? Well, there are some dandy expressions that might come in handy, courtesy of this "Buddies in the Saddle" blog post, including "Go to Halifax!" (which apparently Scarlett said to Rhett in Gone with the Wind).

You can find some lovely expressions in the High Country News post "Rants from the Hill: How to Cuss in Western" (Note to self: find a place in latest book to accuse someone of being a "no count flannel mouth chiseling chuckleheaded gadabout coffee boiler.")

However, for a jaw-dropping horrific you'll-never-come-back-from-this-one curse, I think the The Great Monition of Cursing by Gavin Dunbar, the Archbishop of Glasgow on the border reivers of 1525 wins, hands down. You can read the entire curse (in the Scottish vernacular with "approximate" current-day English translation) here, starting on page 5. I'll have to say, it's a pretty comprehensive curse, putting all our puny, uncreative four-letter-word efforts to shame.

"Them's fightin' words, you gorbellied crook-pated clotpole!"
(Fedor Solntsev, Fist Fight, 1836)