Re: Other meanings not listed in dictionaries
- From: Fred Springer <fred.springer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:54:12 +0100
Peter Duncanson (BrE) wrote:
Does anyone know the origin of the "hames" used with a similar
meaning?
http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/h.htm
hames Noun. A mess, a shambles. E.g."She made a complete
hames of that meal, by overcooking the beef and making lumpy
gravy." [Irish use]
"Greenspeak" [1] confirms that definition, and goes on to say: "The term derives from the two upright curved pieces of iron used in the collar of draught-horses, to which the traces are attached."
OED confirms that definition of "hame", but the evidence for linking the two meanings isn't given in "Greenspeak", nor does OED give the "mess" meaning. None of my slang dictionaries lists the word, and so far as I can recall I've only ever heard it in Ireland.
Then there is:
Horlicks Noun. A mess. Dated expression and rarely heard.
E.g."I made a complete horlicks of the situation."
Horlicks is a bedtime drink:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horlicks
I wonder whether it is used as a rhyme with bollicks (variant
pronunciation of bollocks)?
That's the explanation favoured by Tony Thorne [2], who says: "The word is used by all social classes and began to appear in print in the late 1980s."
[1] Paddy Sammon. Greenspeak: Ireland in her own words. Dublin, TownHouse and CountryHouse Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-86059-144-2
[2] Tony Thorne. Dictionary of contemporary slang. 3rd ed, 2005, A & C Black. ISBN 0-7136-7504-7
.
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