bywords

bilby commented on the list bywords

philippic might not quite fit but I hope houdini doesn't escape!

October 1, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Don't know how I missed the inescapable Houdini. But I can't allow any philippic here. I hope there'll be no criticism if I put it on my "surprisingly eponymous" list.

October 1, 2008

chained_bear commented on the list bywords

I don't suppose gerrymander or sandwich belong on this list, but I thought I'd throw them into the comments mix anyhow. :) I've heard of people being referred to as "the George Washington of his country," but that doesn't seem to be in common enough usage to merit inclusion, either.

October 1, 2008

bilby commented on the list bywords

Australians use Bradman but it's not that widely known outside Commonwealth countries. There's a swathe of Shakesperean characters who would probably deserve a spot here, to strut and fret their hour upon the list.

October 1, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Although Elbridge Gerry lent his name to half of the word gerrymander (the other half coming from salamander, his own name did not itself become a byword. Words like "sandwich" or "derrick", which come from people's names, aren't really bywords either, I think. (Now I'm wondering if maverick belongs there.) But George Washington does qualify, not so much for his being the "father of his country" as for "not being able to tell a lie": "I did chop down the cherry tree!" I can imagine someone saying of another person who is incapable of hiding the truth: "I don't want to include Joe in our pantie raid on the girls' dorm. He's a regular George Washington! You know he'll spill the beans!"

October 1, 2008

chained_bear commented on the list bywords

Gah!!! The cherry tree thing!! *twitches*

Fair enough. He's an American myth (in the sense of great story, not falsehood). But I've heard it used far more often in reference to the "father of his country" shtick. (Which is not a myth (in the sense of falsehood). But it makes me wonder who the mother was, cuz it warn't Martha.)

I would humbly suggest that maverick go to the same place one keeps gerrymander, sandwich and derrick (edit: and boycott). Also agree with bilby that certain characters such as Falstaff and Hotspur could earn a place here, were you so inclined to grant one.

And did I mention I love this list?

October 1, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Thanks, c_b and bilby, for your suggestions! I'm delighted you like the list. You are right about the Shakespearean characters: Falstaff, Hotspur, Hamlet, Iago (but not Othello, I think), and perhaps Cordelia (byword for faithful loving but unappreciated daughter). Any others? I've got Romeo (though Juliet doesn't quite make it).

There is probably a raft of Dickens's characters floating out there (Miss Havisham comes to mind), but I'm not really that familiar with Dickens, so any advice is welcome.

October 1, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Bilby, I haven't a clue who Bradman is.

October 1, 2008

bilby commented on the list bywords

Don Bradman was a cricketer who, statistically at least, was at least 50% better than anyone else who has ever played the game. Even those players in the lower reaches of his stratosphere had the benefit of numerous technological advances that didn't exist in the era of 'The Don'.

Hence, usage: "Michael Phelps confirmed himself as the Bradman of Olympic swimming with a superstar performance at Beijing."

A thoughtful and worthy list, rolig ... again!

October 1, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Thanks for the suggestion, bil. Not sure I want to include sports figures, or rather I think that is beyond my competence.

October 1, 2008

bilby commented on the list bywords

Recent events have me thinking along the lines of Gordon Gecko and Daddy Warbucks.

Just for your interest, when I took a posting as a Malay translator, the note on my desk from the previous chap included something like (from memory): "By all means have a look at the local pantuns. But unless you are a Winstedt you'll have trouble doing much with them." See pantun for one of my (heedless!) attempts. Richard Winstedt was a British Orientalist who was pivotal in translating the previously impenetrable Malay Annals into English.

October 1, 2008

reesetee commented on the list bywords

I join in the high praise, rolig. This might be a stretch, but how about Longfellow for "poet"? I hear that fairly frequently in these parts. And as far as literary figures go, I humbly suggest Don Quixote, Huck Finn, Robinson Crusoe, Peter Pan, Lorna Doone, Herzog, Sister Carrie, and possibly Little Lord Fauntleroy. Oh, and Elmer Gantry and Babbitt.

October 1, 2008

chained_bear commented on the list bywords

Oliver Twist seems a fairly obvious Dickensian character name for this list. Also Artful Dodger perhaps...? I'm not very familiar with Dickens either, but I do know the meaning of those two.

If you were including sports figures—and again, my abhorrence for professional sports is well known—I'd suggest Gretsky or Gretzky or however the hell you spell it. And Babe Ruth.

Portia is a good one, as is Lady Macbeth (for me, a definite). I don't know that I'd add Hamlet, myself, but it isn't my list! :)

Perhaps Hester Prynne.

rt, I think he's got Babbitt already...

Though now I look at this list of new suggestions... It seems they are less commonplace than perhaps the original items on this list, which are clear enough with just one name rather than having to use two or even three. It was a thought, for what it's worth...

October 2, 2008

reesetee commented on the list bywords

Dang! I even tried to search the page. Thanks, c_b.

October 2, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

To try to clarify my criteria here, for me a byword should be a name that can fit into a sentence such as: "He thinks he's a real ________!" or "I never knew she was such a _________." Of course other kinds of uses work too. But it's not simply about someone being super-famous, but about being so closely identified with a specific trait or skill, that no further explanation is needed. Some of these names are no longer really bywords: if I say, "She's his Laura," people are more likely to think of Rob than Petrarch. But 150 years ago, everyone would have understood me to be referring to someone's muse.

C_b, I added Hamlet because this is a byword in Russian (as "Gamlet") – ever since the days of Pushkin – for someone who spends too much time thinking things over and never acts. Which reminds me of another Russian literary byword: Oblomov (for someone who wastes his or her talent in lethargy).

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'll give them all some thought.

October 2, 2008

wordwench commented on the list bywords

In that case, how about Tabitha Twitchett, which I am affronted just inspired.

I know a plethora of those.

October 2, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Sorry. I'm not conversant with Beatrix Potter's stories. Is Tabitha Twitchett really so well known as to be a byword? Do people say things like, "Don't be such a Tabitha Twitchett!"?

October 2, 2008

chained_bear commented on the list bywords

I can't say I've heard that usage for Mrs. Twitchett, but I have heard "She's a veritable Lady Macbeth" (or the like). Reserved for someone who goads another into a terrible crime (e.g. murder).

Rolig, no need to defend your choices! :) I didn't mean to sound as if I were criticizing; just expressing an unasked-for opinion.

October 2, 2008

frindley commented on the list bywords

I propose Bunbury from Oscar Wilde's Importance of Being Earnest:

ALGERNON. Literary criticism is not your forte, my dear fellow. Don’t try it. You should leave that to people who haven’t been at a University. They do it so well in the daily papers. What you really are is a Bunburyist. I was quite right in saying you were a Bunburyist. You are one of the most advanced Bunburyists I know.

JACK. What on earth do you mean?

ALGERNON. You have invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town as often as you like. I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose. Bunbury is perfectly invaluable. If it wasn’t for Bunbury’s extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn’t be able to dine with you at Willis’s to-night, for I have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week.

October 4, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Frindley, Bunbury is an interesting suggestion, not least because the name is used not only for the character Algernon invents but, if I remember correctly, also for a certain kind of activity; isn't there a line in the play where one of them speaks of "Bunburying"? This is close to a byword-kind of use within the play itself. But ultimately, I don't think Bunbury is really a byword, because for one thing I wouldn't know what it stood for if someone were to say: "You're such a Bunbury!" Is this a person who makes up excuses to get out of unpleasant duties, or someone with such conveniently bad health that his friends can use him as such an excuse? Thus Bunbury remains a mystery to me, though I do have other thoughts about this doubly invented character.

C_b, I agree that Lady Macbeth has definitely become a byword, and she is duly added.

October 4, 2008

Prolagus commented on the list bywords

Sosia is an Italian "byword".

October 6, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Interesting, Pro! For some reason, Plautus has not become part of Anglo culture (at least not to any great degree that I know). And I have to admit, I had no idea who Sosia was. But I just read the synopsis of the play Amphitryon on Wikipedia, and now I get it. Thanks!

October 6, 2008

yarb commented on the list bywords

Coryphaeus?

October 7, 2008

rolig commented on the list bywords

Thanks for the suggestion, yarb, but I don't think coryphaeus is the name of a person. Isn't it just the Greek word for "leader (of the chorus)"?

October 7, 2008

yarb commented on the list bywords

Yes indeed; I had a little spaz there didn't I.

October 7, 2008

Prolagus commented on the list bywords

I agree that Maverick belongs here.

October 7, 2008

bilby commented on the list bywords

Mecca.

September 7, 2009

asativum commented on the list bywords

Lolita? And I've heard would-be poets described (sarcastically) as thinking they're a regular Emily Dickinson.

September 8, 2009

rolig commented on the list bywords

Asativum and Bilby, thanks for the suggestions. Lo' and Emily are added, and, via Simon and Garfunkel, Emily reminded me of another American poet whose name has become a byword, so I've added Robert Frost too. Mecca I didn't add, since although it is undoubtedly a byword, this list is reserved for personal names.

September 8, 2009

bilby commented on the list bywords

D'oh, forgot that! But it opens up the possibility for a list of geographical bywords :-)

September 8, 2009

bilby commented on the list bywords

Jim Crow.

September 27, 2009

hernesheir commented on the list bywords

Shylock

September 27, 2009

ruzuzu commented on the list bywords

I have a few of these over on my antonomasia list, but this one is better. In fact, I'd be willing to say that rolig is a regular rolig with these (to coin a phrase).

August 23, 2018