Re: **skivvies**

From: Paul S. Dixon (dixonps@juno.com)
Date: Tue Mar 24 1998 - 12:40:03 EST


On Tue, 24 Mar 1998 00:08:43 -0500 Jim Beale <beale@uconect.net> writes:
>At 3:57 PM -0600 3/23/98, Carl W. Conrad wrote:
>>At 2:57 PM -0600 3/23/98, Jonathan Robie wrote:
>>>At 10:31 AM 3/23/98 -0800, Allison Sanders wrote:
>>>
>>>>> What meaning do *you* assign to the English
>>>>>"skivvies"?
>>>>
>>>>Very Intersting...actually, I've only heard the
>>>>word used to refer to, well, ummm, (whispering) boxer
>>>>shorts.
>>>
>>>OK, time for some creative etymology.
>>
>>Jonathan's was creative enough (I can't believe I started this with my
>>innocent little question yesterday about "eschew"!); I think perhaps
it's
>>worth recalling the one piece of fascinating etymology that Jim Beale
and I
>>discovered a couple years back: do you know what Greek word "squirrel"
>>derives from?
>>
>>Give up? It's SKIOUROS, from SKIA and OUROS: "shadow-tail."
>
>And that was from Paul Dixon's desperate question about how to
>rid his Attic of the pesky SKIOUROS. The question of how the
>SKIOUROS got into the Attic is left as an exercise. . .
>
> KAI TALANTWi DEXIOTHS KAI NOOS STAQMHSETAI

Actually, Jim, the question of how the SKIOUROS got in was solved
the day I crawled back into the Koine(r) of the Attic and saw the light.
EURHKA! There it was, the hole, the emptiness, exposed by the light.
But, it couldn't be repaired from the inside. It all had to be done
externally.
So, while those SKIOUROI were cute and charming, though pesky, they
no longer have a customary run of the Attic, as they once did.

And by right talent and understanding he should weigh. Indeed!

Paul Dixon

P.S., Off to Alabama for my daughter's wedding; back in 5 days.

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