Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Word for the Day, Monday, August 20, 2012-- rantipole
8/2-/12 | xs

Posted on 08/20/2012 4:47:16 AM PDT by xsmommy

Word For The Day, Monday, 8/20/12

;


In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".

rantipole; adj, noun and verb

n. 1. A wild, romping young person. a. 1. Wild; roving; rakish. v. i. 1. To act like a rantipole. She used to rantipole about the house. - Arbuthnot.

Etymology: When in Great Expectations Charles Dickens has Pip’s ill-tempered older sister refer to him as “young Rantipole”, his readers would have known it was not a compliment. It actually refer to somebody who is wild, disorderly, rakish, ill-behaved or reckless. At the end of the nineteenth century, Dr E Cobham Brewer, the first editor of the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, remarked that “The late Emperor Napoleon III was called Rantipole, for his escapades at Strasbourg and Boulogne. In 1852 I myself saw a man commanded by the police to leave Paris within twenty-four hours for calling his dog Rantipole.” Pip and Mrs Havisham, from the 1862 edition of Great Expectations Unlike Dr Brewer, we do not believe that the word derives from the Dutch randten, to be in a state of idiocy or insanity, though it is accepted that the second half is poll, meaning the head. It is now thought the first part is from rant (or possibly the English dialect ranty, “riotous” or “wildly excited”) and that the whole is a fanciful creation by some unknown person around 1700. It was equally well known in North America (Noah Webster had the noun and verb in his dictionary of 1806) and it appears in several works by Washington Irving, including The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: “This rantipole hero had for some time singled out the blooming Katrina for the object of his uncouth gallantries, and though his amorous toyings were something like the gentle caresses and endearments of a bear, yet it was whispered that she did not altogether discourage his hopes.” Captain Francis Grose noted in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811) that to ride rantipole was the same as riding St George. This turns out to be a reference to sex with the woman on top, which Grose notes was "said to be the way to get a bishop".

Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence.
The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day.

The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-)
Practice makes perfect.....post on....




TOPICS: Word For The Day
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-76 next last
To: xsmommy

If I had to look elsewhere for work for some reason, Houston is probably where I’d end up. Lots of energy-related companies.


21 posted on 08/20/2012 5:27:29 AM PDT by SoothingDave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy
... which Grose notes was "said to be the way to get a bishop"

I really don't understand how that is supposed to help my chess game.

22 posted on 08/20/2012 5:31:20 AM PDT by NicknamedBob (The road less traveled is often hazardous that way.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy
Clearly this has to be the idea of a rantipole.
23 posted on 08/20/2012 5:42:27 AM PDT by NeoCaveman ("If I had a son he'd look like B.O.'s lunch" - Rin Tin Tin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SoothingDave

he’s about 10 yrs out from retirement. hopefully he can stick it out with this company (he worked for a zillion years for Halliburton before moving to his current company which was then bought out by the Houston firm that has offered him this VP slot, not like he’s a gadfly going from job to job LOL!). They didn’t want to live in OH in retirement, and they liked TX while there. my bro has traveled there a lot over the years and knows it well. They may have trouble selling the house in Warren, i doubt real estate is moving fast there.


24 posted on 08/20/2012 5:42:44 AM PDT by xsmommy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

We have just driven from Wisconsin to California — 3 hard days of 900 miles per day — and I’m not rantipoling around this AM. I can barely open my eyes.


25 posted on 08/20/2012 6:26:52 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic (ABO)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

They don’t like snow?


26 posted on 08/20/2012 6:27:48 AM PDT by SoothingDave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: afraidfortherepublic

you need to rest up!! A+++


27 posted on 08/20/2012 6:37:29 AM PDT by xsmommy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

Once you get older, who wants to shovel snow?


28 posted on 08/20/2012 6:38:16 AM PDT by secret garden (Why procrastinate when you can perendinate?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: SoothingDave

not so much that as Warren is just not a booming area. I do feel like i want to say they dang well need to VOTE in OH before they move bc OH needs those two R votes way more than TX does!


29 posted on 08/20/2012 6:38:42 AM PDT by xsmommy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: SoothingDave

No. That’s a Hobbsipole. That would make her a rantipole.


30 posted on 08/20/2012 6:48:41 AM PDT by hobbes1 (Hobbes1TheOmniscient® "St.Sarah, the1Tru Conservative that REFUSES to unite us and Save America"you)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

Ive never heard you use lookout as an antecedent to that phrase.....


31 posted on 08/20/2012 6:51:34 AM PDT by hobbes1 (Hobbes1TheOmniscient® "St.Sarah, the1Tru Conservative that REFUSES to unite us and Save America"you)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

You know you were just asking for it with your post about hockey players and their dogs? I refrained.


32 posted on 08/20/2012 6:51:36 AM PDT by SoothingDave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: SoothingDave

what was i asking for??


33 posted on 08/20/2012 6:55:10 AM PDT by xsmommy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

No rest for me. Have to sign contracts for Mom into an assisted living center and then take her from rehab to get her hearing aids either adjusted, fixed, or returned. And then we commence the move. All the while, she is kicking and screaming that she doesn’t want to go to assisted living. It’s a lot like dealing with a recalcitrant teen ager. She will by 99 tomorrow. My oldest son will arrive on Thursday to pick up her car for my granddaughter. Lots of schedules to meet. Change the phone. Set up the apartment. Mover her in. Hope she likes it. Keep smile on face. And it’s 101 degrees here today.


34 posted on 08/20/2012 6:56:13 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic (ABO)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: afraidfortherepublic

It’s lamentable that you have to deal with the difficulties. my best friend was rather lucky. they moved her mom into assisted living, from her apt in the same complex, at her mother’s request. she was very worried she would fall or something. She turned 90 this past year.


35 posted on 08/20/2012 6:59:31 AM PDT by xsmommy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: afraidfortherepublic

She will BE 99 tomorrow. And we are going to MOVE her in. I am tired!


36 posted on 08/20/2012 6:59:31 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic (ABO)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

To God’s ear:

May Barack Insane Obama rantipole like a stripper on a sugar high after his historic 50-state loss on November 6th.


37 posted on 08/20/2012 7:02:06 AM PDT by MortMan (Laughter is the best medicine, especially when ridiculing your enemies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

Oh wow! They will love the housing market but hate the heat in the summer. Tell them to find a house with a pool - and if they need any advice on areas to live I will be happy to offer my biased opinion!


38 posted on 08/20/2012 7:05:07 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (ABO)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

My mom DID fall at home in May and broke her leg. Through the miracle of modern medicine, they put a rod in the leg and got her back on her feet. But, her Xrays look like swiss cheese, according to the medical professionals who have seen them. She just cannot live alone any more. She won’t come to Wisconsin, so there is no other choice. We found a wonderful place for her, but she is apprehensive.

Go to http://cottonwoodfresno.com/ for a peek. Everyone who has seen this web site want to know when THEY can move in. Her retirement income plus some savings will cover her there. It’s a win/win situation.


39 posted on 08/20/2012 7:09:07 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic (ABO)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: xsmommy

A crude comment.

You asked what was better than hockey players and their dogs.

Maybe something like “beach volleyball players and their felines.”


40 posted on 08/20/2012 7:09:55 AM PDT by SoothingDave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-76 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson