Wimsey-ical language

[alexxkay]

One thing I didn't mention about _Five Red Herrings_ was the incessant use of heavy Scottish dialect. This included frequent use of the mysterious utterance, "imph'm". From repeated context, I eventually suspected it meant something along the lines of "mmmmmaybe". Eventually I decide to google it, and found a pair of delightful poems.

_Have His Carcase_ was a much better book, as how could it not be with so much excellent Harriet/Peter banter. And in this book, I learn that the term "lounge lizard" is older than I would have thought. Other words of note: 'noonlight', 'scabious', 'hause-bone', 'halitus', 'pukka', 'gamp', 'subfusc', 'morgantically', and 'bunce'.

_Murder Must Advertise_ was also excellent, despite the near-total absence of Harriet. Words of note: 'dislimned', 'bonhomous', 'googlies', 'Chrononhotonthologos', 'Aldiborontophoscophornio', 'ack emma', 'insufflator', 'gibus', 'gobony', 'punnets', 'charabancs', 'dolichocephalic', and 'perpend'.

Also, the sentence: "I said, 'What-ho! that absolutely whangs the nail over the crumpet.' Because it struck me, really, as being the caterpillar's boots."

Comments

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

Well, that was Peter, er, Death parodying himself.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. Doesn't make it any less worthy of note :-)

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

I was specially fond of "smug-druggling," myself.

hause-bone

[(Anonymous)]

Interestingly I just googled 'hause-bone' for a definition, and your entry was the first relevant hit. As it happens I'm reading "Have his Carcase," too, so cheers to you.

(And I'll maybe suggest "black-coated brigade" [government pen-pushers] for your list, as I hadn't heard the expression before.)

Re: hause-bone

[(Anonymous)]

also, I loved 'ack emma' and wonder about the p.m. equivalent.

Re: hause-bone

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

I'm up to _The Nine Tailors_, where a constable uses the phrase 'pee hem'.