According to Websters dictionary, susurrus comes from the Latin and means whisper, murmur, hum; a whispering, rustling or muttering sound. One of T.S Eliot's essays (written in 1922) talks about "the confused cries of the newspaper critics and the susurrus of popular repetition that follows".
Nearly a century later, and this word still occasionally appears in literature. One modern writer, Jim Butcher, used it in his short story 'Aftermath' published in 2011: "Then I circled around, killed the engine with the bike still in motion, and came coasting back over the cracked old asphalt, the whisper of my tires lost in the susurrus of city sounds and water lapping the lakeshore."
Susurrus is a fine example of onomatopoeia. These are words which suggest the sound of their meaning -for instance, ricochet, ping, cock-a-doodle-doo, etc. With onomatopoeic words sound and sense echo and reinforce each other, often using alliteration and assonance. They are common in children's stories, advertising and comics. Remember that television series of Batman in the 1960s? They even had onomatopoeic onscreen captioned sound effects during the fight scenes. Have a look at this youtube video to see what I mean... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r94AJzJZZaU
Onomatopoeia is all around us, if you look and listen for it.
Sources:
Butcher, Jim (2011) 'Aftermath' from Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files, Orbit.
Eliot, T.S. (1922) 'Tradition and the Individual Talent' from The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism.
McArthur, Tom, ed. (1992) The Oxford Companion to the English Language, Oxford University Press.
Websters Third New International Dictionary, unabridged (1993)
Juliana
Sunday 25 September 2011
Monday 12 September 2011
A Ham Actor
I recently went to see Grease: The Musical in Cardiff. It was an excellent show apart from the actor playing Danny. He could sing and dance superbly, but overacted terribly. He was what we call a ham actor. So where did this phrase come from?
Ham first appears in America in 1882. It was slang for a performer who overacts, an inferior actor or performer. It is actually a shortened form of hamfatter (from 1880), which was a term of contempt for an actor of low grade, such as a minstrel. These second rate actors had to use ham fat on their faces as a base for theatre make-up, as they couldn't afford the better greasepaint and oils.
The word hamfatter or ham fat man was closely linked to minstrels in late 19th/early 20th century America. There is even a song called De Ham Fat Man. The language is shocking to our politically correct world today, so be warned... http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/songster/13-de-ham-fat-man.htm
I have also discovered an article in the New York Times in 1883 discussing the origins of hamfatter and ham-fat man, which also refers to this phrase's negro connections. You can read this article here http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DE2DE1731E433A25756C0A9659C94629FD7CF
It's surprising to discover that this phrase has such fascinating origins. It gives a whole extra dimension to it's meaning, doesn't it?
Sources:
Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (1988), Chambers
Green, Jonathan (2000) Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, Cassell & Co, London.
Traditional Music (unknown) De Ham Fat Man [online] Available from: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/songster/13-de-ham-fat-man.htm (accessed 14 August 2011)
Uncle Rufus (1883) 'Hamfatters and a Ham Fat Man' New York Times, 5th March [online] Available from http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DE2DE1731E433A25756C0A9659C94629FD7CF (accessed 14 August 2011)
Juliana
Ham first appears in America in 1882. It was slang for a performer who overacts, an inferior actor or performer. It is actually a shortened form of hamfatter (from 1880), which was a term of contempt for an actor of low grade, such as a minstrel. These second rate actors had to use ham fat on their faces as a base for theatre make-up, as they couldn't afford the better greasepaint and oils.
The word hamfatter or ham fat man was closely linked to minstrels in late 19th/early 20th century America. There is even a song called De Ham Fat Man. The language is shocking to our politically correct world today, so be warned... http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/songster/13-de-ham-fat-man.htm
I have also discovered an article in the New York Times in 1883 discussing the origins of hamfatter and ham-fat man, which also refers to this phrase's negro connections. You can read this article here http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DE2DE1731E433A25756C0A9659C94629FD7CF
It's surprising to discover that this phrase has such fascinating origins. It gives a whole extra dimension to it's meaning, doesn't it?
Sources:
Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (1988), Chambers
Green, Jonathan (2000) Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, Cassell & Co, London.
Traditional Music (unknown) De Ham Fat Man [online] Available from: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/songster/13-de-ham-fat-man.htm (accessed 14 August 2011)
Uncle Rufus (1883) 'Hamfatters and a Ham Fat Man' New York Times, 5th March [online] Available from http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DE2DE1731E433A25756C0A9659C94629FD7CF (accessed 14 August 2011)
Juliana
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