Sunday 15 July 2012

Hobson-Jobson

Driving back yesterday from a baking hot very damp Devon (one afternoon on the beach - wearing a waterproof - does not a holiday maketh), we were in need of a fillip. And Radio 4's Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive did the job; a thoroughly riveting thirty minutes charting the story of the Colonial-Indian dictionary; how it was conceived, written, published and in the 21st century, despite the fact that the days of Raj and Empire are long gone, the lexicon lives on.
Hurdy-gurdy, hugger-mugger, higgledy-piggledy, hocus-pocus, tit-for-tat, topsy-turvy, harum-scarum, roly-poly, nirvana, pyjamas, bungalow and juggernaut are proof indeed (no need to watch Goodness Gracious Me re-runs) that if these words didn't exist we'd have to invent them. It's still up on the iplayer if you missed it.

7 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about the washed-out holiday, but thanks for the heads-up regarding the documentary.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I heard this, John - wasn't it a great little programme? The sort of thing that reminds me how happy I am to pay my licence fee. Just the thing to cheer up a watery end to a UK break.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm fascinated by words, especially ones that have unexpected origins - a friend had also mentioned this programme to me and your post is a reminder that I must give it a listen on the i-player. Thanks.
    Sorry about the wet holiday, very much a topsy-turvy old summer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I thought bungalow was when the builders got fed up and said "Bung a low roof on it"... boom boom... I thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That sounds right up my alley, thanks for the tip (double entendres ahoy).

    ReplyDelete
  6. hokey-dokey piddly pokey ...loving this playing!!

    ReplyDelete