![]() ![]() ![]() Mid-nineteenth-century English was somewhat different from the English we speak today - not in its usage but in its vocabulary. The boy from whom Scrooge orders the prize turkey responds with suitable incredulity, for "Walker" was a nineteenth-century colloquialism equivalent in meaning to "humbug"(see entry for page three), as in "That is all Walker." This would seem to be a specialized use of a surname, since more fully the expression is "Hookey Walker," and the "W" is always capitalized. "Walker" A Christmas Carol, Stave Four (p. Also Hooky!, as in Bee, and by hooky!, as in Manchon.�2. Hooky Walker! A phrase signifying that something either is not true or will not occur: (low) colloquial, from ca. Balatronicum, Hookee Walker, an expression signifying that the story is not true, or that the thing will not occur.Įric Partridge, A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1949) 403. (= 'humbug'), as in 'That is all Walker.'ġ811 Lex. An exclamation expressive of incredulity, Also occasionally as a sb. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |