Etymology question for my British friends

[ear3]

What is the reason and origin of the term chippy for carpenters?

 

[bobfog]

Most building/construction trades in the UK have slang terms for the people who undertake them. With the trades being generally working class, the names are fairly low-brow and elementary.

*Electrician = sparky, because electricity can arc or spark.
*Plasterers = spreads, because they spread plaster on walls/ceilings.
*Carpenter = chippy, because they chip away at wood/make wood chips.
*Plumber = flood, because water causes floods. (This is a less common one than above).
*Mason = bricky because they lay bricks.
*Gas engineer = sniff, because gas smells.
*Foreman/supervisor = gaffer. In the film industry worldwide the gaffer is the head electrician, not sure why it bridged the gap and became the overarching name for any foreman in the UK.

 

[Tinker]

quote>>>*Foreman/supervisor = gaffer. In the film industry worldwide the gaffer is the head electrician, not sure why it bridged the gap and became the overarching name for any foreman in the UK.

 

[mouppe]

I'm not sure how long the term chippy has been around, but it could also be derived from the French charpentier meaning carpenter.

It's also used to mean a prostitute, and a fish-and-chip shop.  ???

 

[ear3]

Thanks guys.  Sniff -- I like it.

 

[joiner1970]

I'm not sure how long the term chippy has been around, but it could also be derived from the French charpentier meaning carpenter.

It's also used to mean a prostitute, and a fish-and-chip shop.  ???

Lol reminds me of when I was younger, out in night clubs chatting up girls. I'd often get asked

"what do you do for a living?"

" oh I'm a chippy"

"What you work in a fish n chip shop ?"

Lol

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[peter halle]

Ironically, this is a true story.  Obviously not as well told as by [member=550]Tinker[/member]

I was working on a job using all my Festool stuff about 6 years ago and was actually making custom molding profiles on the fly by request of the owner when her interior decorator came out.

I shut down by router.  I was covered with sawdust -SHAME ON ME.  And then she asked: "What do you do?"  I shook my head and replied: "I am a male prostitute.  I do anything for money."  The look on her face was priceless just before she scurried back inside and I started the router again.

Guess I really am a chippy^2.

Peter

 

[tiralie]

what does "Gnats nambjer" mean? Very small?
Not sure I have "nambjer" spelled correctly trying to spell it phonetically.

tim

 

[copcarcollector]

The descriptions are interesting.

Am I the only one who had to look up "Etymology"? Guess I should have stayed in skoool.. [blink] Well I learned a new word today!

 

[Holmz]

The descriptions are interesting.

Am I the only one who had to look up "Etymology"? Guess I should have stayed in skoool.. [blink] Well I learned a new word today!

I think it is a british word.

 

[Kev]

The descriptions are interesting.

Am I the only one who had to look up "Etymology"? Guess I should have stayed in skoool.. [blink] Well I learned a new word today!

I think it is a british word.

English .. Latin roots.

 

[windmill man]

Gnats nadger.............. yes means very small  [embarassed]    It a tiny none standard measurment it equates to the lenght of a gnats reproductive equipment

well you asked [big grin] there are other permutations

 

[peter halle]

For those elsewhere in the world the phrase used here for tiny measurements was similar - Gnats Hair.  I am sure that I am showing either my age or it was a geographically accepted term by constructions workers.

Peter

 

[Stephen B]

Re Gnats hair, around here many trades use the term of ' precision measurement', smaller than a Bee's D _ _ _!

_______________________________
From Google -[size=10pt]
etymology
ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/
noun
the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.
"the decline of etymology as a linguistic discipline"
the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning.
plural noun: etymologies
"the etymology of the word ‘devil’"
synonyms: derivation, word history, development, origin, source
Feedback

 

[windmill man]

Never heard "gnats hair" Peter we use "hairs breadth" here though

 

[tiralie]

Gnats nadger.............. yes means very small  [embarassed]    It a tiny none standard measurment it equates to the lenght of a gnats reproductive equipment

well you asked [big grin] there are other permutations

Thanks, I figured.
And thanks to [member=37411]Edward A Reno III[/member] for starting the thread. I like to study the origin of words and phrases. William Safire used to write a column in the New York Times called "On Language" which was a history of the world through the origin of words and phrases.

 

[greg mann]

Our Aussie friends have the inside track on expressive words and phrases. Any of you like to enlighten us on the origin of Pommie Ba$tard?

 

[Stephen B]

[size=8pt]

Our Aussie friends have the inside track on expressive words and phrases. Any of you like to enlighten us on the origin of Pommie Ba$tard?

[size=13pt]
Well [member=22]greg mann[/member] , you did ask!  [eek]

Origin in times of mass British migration in 1950's and 60's when it cost 10 pounds to immigrate by ship to Australia. The Ten Pound Pom who was always complaining how better it was back in England. "Too hot, have to work, we do it that way in England " etc.,  hence 'Whinging Pommy Bastard'. Not all deserved this and like others from Europe worked hard to make a new life in Australia following WW11.

The phrase tended to be directed more at the English than Irish, Scots or Welsh. This bias probably stems from Convict and Working Class migration in the 1700 and 1800s and the treatment of 'Diggers' [term still used today for Australian Soldiers] under the command of English Officers on the Western Front in WW1. Many of the Western Front Survivers were still alive in the 1950s and 60s. For further reading regarding the experience of Australians on the Western Front see Peter Fitzsimons book,  'Fromelles & Pozieres'. Available through IBook.

Bastard can be a word of anger or friendship depending on the context. "You old bastard" is generally said with affection. "YOU Bastard"! Certainly not!

An example of affection is, on hearing [member=13058]Kev[/member] has purchased a new Router - "Kev, you old Bastard".  [smile]

Pommie Bastard can still be derogatory, especially at the
Ashes cricket tests?  [smile] But with time can be said with affection. Again context is significant.

More info from Mr Google -
[size=10pt]whinging pommy bastard
Englishman that complains a lot; or, an Englishman. Whinge means to whine or to complain, a pommy or pommie is an Englishman, and bastard is just for emphasis.

an unpleasant or despicable person.
"he lied to me, the bastard!"
synonyms: scoundrel, villain, rogue, rascal, brute, animal, weasel, snake, monster, ogre, wretch, devil, good-for-nothing, reprobate, wrongdoer, evil-doer; More

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[size=13pt]
Another tradie term around here, mainly by Plumbers referring to pipe joins - "that's tighter than a c _ _ _  in a sock".

 

[Kev]

Most building/construction trades in the UK have slang terms for the people who undertake them. With the trades being generally working class, the names are fairly low-brow and elementary.

*Electrician = sparky, because electricity can arc or spark.
*Plasterers = spreads, because they spread plaster on walls/ceilings.
*Carpenter = chippy, because they chip away at wood/make wood chips.
*Plumber = flood, because water causes floods. (This is a less common one than above).
*Mason = bricky because they lay bricks.
*Gas engineer = sniff, because gas smells.
*Foreman/supervisor = gaffer. In the film industry worldwide the gaffer is the head electrician, not sure why it bridged the gap and became the overarching name for any foreman in the UK.

Don't for get the spanner man ... mechanic [wink]

 

[tony_sheehan]

"Pommie Bastard can still be derogatory, especially at the
Ashes cricket tests?  [smile] But with time can be said with affection. Again context is significant."

Ha! All the Aussies (and Kiwis) I've worked with over the years, I don't believe I've ever heard it used affectionately