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Sep 11, 2011

This week’s theme
Unusual synonyms

This week’s words
cowabunga
huzzah
gesundheit
bada-bing
attaboy

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Relative usage over time

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Next week’s theme
Words made with combining forms

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AWADmail Issue 480

From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: 10 years ago

The Sep 11 attacks ten years ago prompted a flood of responses from AWAD readers. We published a Special Peace Issue (AWADmail Issue 48) that may be worth reading again.

From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the net

Singapore's language battle: American vs the Queen's English
Asian Correspondent

Shtick, Pavilion and Other Great Words
The Independent

From: Will Brew (wbrew verizon.net)
Subject: cowabunga
Def: An expression of surprise, joy, or enthusiasm.

Here's a great video clip about the origin of the word (and its subsequent use).

From: Constance Adler (cmadler8 earthlink.net)
Subject: cowabunga!

Thank you for the etymology of "cowabunga!" I was surprised that you neglected to mention one of the most cherished (I think) examples of this word's use in popular culture. The Peanuts Beagle, Snoopy cried "cowabunga" just as he was about to pounce on his prey, real or imagined. You're going to hear from a lot of us Snoopy fans today.

From: Fred Webber (phred55427 aol.com)
Subject: cowabunga

To not cite the frequent use of "cowabunga" by cultural icon Bart Simpson is inexcusable! The show is now in its 23rd season. Get your noses out of the books.

D'oh!

From: Gordon Thomas (gordonthomas earthlink.net)
Subject: With sentimental thanks

I'm moved today to thank you for touching me with a sentimental memory today. The word cowabunga transported me 35 years into the past, recalling the first love of my life, a gifted and brilliant philosopher named Robert Andrew Ariel. I was a 21-year-old University of Minnesota student, he a 24-year-old grad student. We met shortly after his arrival from Balliol College and fell in love. He taught me a great deal, including his appreciation of quirky words and (over time) to accept and even delight in his vexing ability to unravel any argument I could muster in two seconds flat.

In any case, one of his favorite exclamatory words was cowabunga, usually in response to anything that appeared slightly excessive or especially tickled him.

Robert died in 2001, but the memory of the extraordinary impact he had (and has to this day) on my life stays strong. So this morning, I was greeted once again by his smiling face and heard his familiar voice, which in turn brought a smile to mine.

From: John Ellis (j.ellis9726 sbcglobal.net)
Subject: Gesundheit
Def: Used to wish good health to someone who has sneezed.

When traveling in Germany this spring we were looking for a drug store and were amused to find that they are labeled Gesundheit. Once inside, they looked about like what we see in the US.

From: Jerry Gordon (jerrygordon juno.com)
Subject: Gesundheit

Talk about successful memes! I'm hard-pressed to think of a more pervasive superstition than saying "Gesundheit" or "God bless you" when someone sneezes. Not commenting on the effluence almost borders on rudeness. How come burps, coughs, and farts don't require a response from the audience?

From: Jim Belisle (jtb399 yahoo.com)
Subject: bada-bing
Def: Used to suggest something happening effortlessly, emphatically, or predictably, implying "Just like that!" or "Voila!"

In the US this is sometimes used in the phrase "bada bing, bada boom" with the same meaning. I remember Jay Leno's comments when Joey Battafuoco's Long Island Lolita was in the news: "Bada bing, bada boom, Battafuoco!"

From: Stephen S. Power (spower wiley.com)
Subject: Bada-bing

Come on: how could you not use as an example the most famous quotation with bada-bing, Jimmy Cahn's Sonny Corleone improvising it in The Godfather:

From: Sherill Anderson (clintonsherill hotmail.com)
Subject: bada-bing

On the HBO series "The Sopranos" the topl ess bar that Tony Soprano frequented was called "The Bada Bing".

From: Michael McGown (mmcgown gmx.com)
Subject: age of bada-bing

I'm sure I remember the phrase bada-bing, bada-boom from longer ago than 1965. In my head, I associate it with Jackie Gleason. After a bit of a search, I turned up this page:

Beyond this, Cooper was on Jackie Gleason many times as far back as 1953, and while I have no proof, I think Cooper and Gleason were both using the phrase even before 1958.

From: Mike Williams (mikew12345 cox.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--attaboy
Def: Used to express approval or encouragement.

I've seen this many times printed on an official-looking certificate:

From: Guru Nadarajan (dr.g.nadarajan gmail.com)
Subject: Interjection

Talking of how to administer an injection properly in the buttock, Bailey and Love's textbook of surgery says "If you don't insert the needle correctly and happen to poke the sciatic nerve, an injection will be followed by an interjection from the patient."

From: Susie Getzschman (getzschman sbcglobal.net)
Subject: Interjections

My favorite and oft expressed interjection comes from a football player who married a religious woman and thus limited his interjections to: "Oh my garage!"

From: Kelly Gombert (kelly.d.gombert philips.com)
Subject: Interjections

Thanks for the earworm. As soon as I read this week's theme, I immediately thought about the Saturday morning Schoolhouse Rock jingle:

From: Eric Shackle (ericshackle bigpond.com)
Subject: Interjections

The world's oldest dogs would interject Yapyap! or Grrr!. To make sense of this, click on Nimble Nonagenarians.