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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 132133
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Posted: 20 November 2020 at 7:21pm | IP Logged | 1
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Drifting thru nostalgia, and recalled this word, a favorite from my childhood in England. It basically means “stupid”.Hey, members from Britain—is it still in use?
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Robbie Moubert Byrne Robotics Member
Evertonian
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1484
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Posted: 20 November 2020 at 8:49pm | IP Logged | 2
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It's definitely still in use although I couldn't say when I last used it. A young (mid-20s) acquaintance of mine says she uses it all the time.
Edited by Robbie Moubert on 20 November 2020 at 8:49pm
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James Woodcock Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 September 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7581
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 2:15am | IP Logged | 3
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Yep, a special kind of stupid.
We used to abbreviate it to calling someone ‘a gorm’
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Bill Collins Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 26 May 2005 Location: England Posts: 11245
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 5:59am | IP Logged | 4
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Definitely still used in The Black Country!
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Bill Collins Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 26 May 2005 Location: England Posts: 11245
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 6:05am | IP Logged | 5
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This has made me think of a couple of local words that do seem to have gone out of regular use, 'Gom' as a substitute for god as in 'My gom' and 'Ruddy' as in Ruddy hell'
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Raj Dhami Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 07 March 2008 Posts: 232
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 8:27am | IP Logged | 6
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Gormless is still very much in "circulation" and is normally partnered alongside "Git" (e.g "that Boris Johnson is a gormless git") just to add further insult to injury :)
FYI...Boris just used as an example, not used as a statement of political leaning.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 132133
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 8:35am | IP Logged | 7
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“Ruddy” is a euphemism, of course, used by those who think “bloody” is a bit too near the bone, derived as it is from the antique oath “Christ’s blood”.My mother, who was not what you’d call religious, had a particular dislike of “bloody”.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 132133
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 8:38am | IP Logged | 8
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For American readers, I should perhaps mention/remind that the Black Country—which is where I’m from—refers to the coal mining districts in the Midlands.
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Robbie Moubert Byrne Robotics Member
Evertonian
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1484
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 8:50am | IP Logged | 9
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In 2007 BBC1 broadcast the Harry Enfield & Paul Whitehouse series Ruddy Hell!! It's Harry and Paul, although from the second series onwards it was changed to just Harry and Paul.
Edited by Robbie Moubert on 21 November 2020 at 8:51am
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Peter Martin Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 15728
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 9:26am | IP Logged | 10
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Ruddy was still in use when I was a child but it tended to be used by folk from the more rural areas. Hagrid uses it quite a bit in the Potter films. Ruddy great thing it was, etc.
Gormless is definitely still in use, though not particularly common. Someone who hasn't got a clue. Basically, Trigger in Only Fools and Horses.
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Rebecca Jansen Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 February 2018 Location: Canada Posts: 4410
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 4:55pm | IP Logged | 11
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How about 'plank', 'pratt', 'daft pillock', and 'big girls' blouse'? I think PM Boris used the latter once on Jeremy Corbyn in the house. :^D
The new one for me is 'numpty'. I like to collect these in various languages; I have a small but potent number of Dutch and Japanese put-downs and swear words too.
Gormless equates to clueless in my understanding.
Edited by Rebecca Jansen on 21 November 2020 at 4:56pm
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Ian Penman Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 September 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 469
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Posted: 21 November 2020 at 6:33pm | IP Logged | 12
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Still in use. I prefer 'dozy' myself.
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