| Author |
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Elsa T. S. Vieira
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 10:26 pm
Post subject: Jibble - what??? |
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Hello!
I'm a portuguese translator and I wonder if you could help with something.
I'm translating this english book written in the '30s, so maybe this is an
old expression or something. The dialogue goes as follows:
--quote--
- Who is the vamp?
- Miss Jibble, sir... Miss Eliza Jibble.
- She looks it - said Tony ungallantly.
-- unquote --
Ok, as you may have guessed, they are talking about a rather unpleasant
looking girl, fat and short, with pimples, bad hair and bad teeth.
I guess the remark "she looks it" has something to do with her name, but I
can't find "jibble" in any dictionary.
Anyone has any idea that could help me out here?
Many thanks in advance,
--
Elsa T. S. Vieira
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Peter Duncanson
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 11:04 pm
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 17:26:31 +0100, "Elsa T. S. Vieira"
<elsa.ts@netvisao.pt> wrote:
| Quote: |
Hello!
I'm a portuguese translator and I wonder if you could help with something.
I'm translating this english book written in the '30s, so maybe this is an
old expression or something. The dialogue goes as follows:
--quote--
- Who is the vamp?
- Miss Jibble, sir... Miss Eliza Jibble.
- She looks it - said Tony ungallantly.
-- unquote --
Ok, as you may have guessed, they are talking about a rather unpleasant
looking girl, fat and short, with pimples, bad hair and bad teeth.
I guess the remark "she looks it" has something to do with her name, but I
can't find "jibble" in any dictionary.
Anyone has any idea that could help me out here?
Many thanks in advance,
|
At first sight Jibble suggests, to me, two other words: jiggle and wobble.
These might describe the motion of a person who is fat and flabby.
--
Peter Duncanson
UK (posting from a.e.u) |
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Raymond S. Wise
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 11:32 pm
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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"Elsa T. S. Vieira" <elsa.ts@netvisao.pt> wrote in message
news:2s2qdmF1fk1flU1@uni-berlin.de...
| Quote: |
Hello!
I'm a portuguese translator and I wonder if you could help with something.
I'm translating this english book written in the '30s, so maybe this is an
|
That's "English book."
| Quote: | old expression or something. The dialogue goes as follows:
--quote--
- Who is the vamp?
- Miss Jibble, sir... Miss Eliza Jibble.
- She looks it - said Tony ungallantly.
-- unquote --
Ok, as you may have guessed, they are talking about a rather unpleasant
looking girl, fat and short, with pimples, bad hair and bad teeth.
|
I would not have guessed, given that the woman is described with the word
"vamp" which means, as it says in the *Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary*(
www.m-w.com ), "a woman who uses her charm or wiles to seduce and exploit
men."
| Quote: |
I guess the remark "she looks it" has something to do with her name, but I
can't find "jibble" in any dictionary.
Anyone has any idea that could help me out here?
Many thanks in advance,
--
Elsa T. S. Vieira
|
I did find this, but don't know if it applies: The following page on Ulster
Scots
http://uk.geocities.com/richard_archibald/ullans_voc.html
defines "jibble" as "dribble; spill."
In American English, the word "drip" has been used to mean (from M-W Online)
"a dull or unattractive person."
--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com
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John Flynn
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:21 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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Raymond S. Wise wrote, in part:
| Quote: | Elsa T. S. Vieira wrote:
Hello!
I'm a portuguese translator and I wonder if you could help with
something.
I'm translating this english book written in the '30s, so maybe this
is an
That's "English book."
|
I think it's "English book", actually!
--
johnF
"Professionals know that they have to produce theory after theory before
they are likely to hit the jackpot"
-- _What Mad Pursuit: A Personal View of Scientific Discovery_, Francis Crick |
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Raymond S. Wise
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:32 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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"John Flynn" <johnpf@lineone.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9574C525CC580johnpf@216.128.74.129...
| Quote: | Raymond S. Wise wrote, in part:
Elsa T. S. Vieira wrote:
Hello!
I'm a portuguese translator and I wonder if you could help with
something.
I'm translating this english book written in the '30s, so maybe this
is an
That's "English book."
I think it's "English book", actually!
|
Mixing punctuation styles is to be avoided. At the end of a sentence ending
in a period, I, being an American who uses the traditional American style,
would write <"English book.">. For me to write <"English book".> there would
be flatly wrong. When necessary, I'm happy to use angled brackets to
preserve the exact format from the original cite, as I have in this
paragraph, but I didn't consider my previous post to be such an occasion.
--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com |
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Elsa T. S. Vieira
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:50 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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"Raymond S. Wise" <mplsrayNOSPAM@gbronline.com> wrote in message
news:TbWdnetwzcKy3sHcRVn-jA@gbronline.com...
| Quote: | I'm translating this english book written in the '30s, so maybe this is
an
That's "English book."
|
Sorry about that, but since in portuguese we usually avoid capitalizations,
I sometimes tend to forget the rules in english, no disrespect meant :-)
| Quote: | Ok, as you may have guessed, they are talking about a rather unpleasant
looking girl, fat and short, with pimples, bad hair and bad teeth.
I would not have guessed, given that the woman is described with the word
"vamp" which means, as it says in the *Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary*(
www.m-w.com ), "a woman who uses her charm or wiles to seduce and exploit
men."
|
Well, I thought you might guess by looking at her name "Jibbles" and seeing
at once what it means... I was hoping it would be a more or less well known
expression.
| Quote: |
I did find this, but don't know if it applies: The following page on
Ulster
Scots
http://uk.geocities.com/richard_archibald/ullans_voc.html
defines "jibble" as "dribble; spill."
In American English, the word "drip" has been used to mean (from M-W
Online)
"a dull or unattractive person."
|
Thanks a lot, I haven't found that page in my searches. At least I have some
idea to try and turn this around in portuguese.
Many thanks,
Elsa T. S. Vieira |
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Elsa T. S. Vieira
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:53 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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"Peter Duncanson" <mail@peterduncanson.net> wrote in message
news:tveol0li8oph24gb0usotpfj2v4q14hk80@4ax.com...
| Quote: |
At first sight Jibble suggests, to me, two other words: jiggle and wobble.
These might describe the motion of a person who is fat and flabby.
|
Thanks a lot, I was hoping it would be a more common expression. Maybe it is
a pun with the sound of the word.
I'll have to try and see what I can do to make sense of it in portuguese.
Many thanks for your help,
Elsa T. S. Vieira |
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Peter Duncanson
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 2:09 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 19:53:14 +0100, "Elsa T. S. Vieira"
<elsa.ts@netvisao.pt> wrote:
| Quote: |
"Peter Duncanson" <mail@peterduncanson.net> wrote in message
news:tveol0li8oph24gb0usotpfj2v4q14hk80@4ax.com...
At first sight Jibble suggests, to me, two other words: jiggle and wobble.
These might describe the motion of a person who is fat and flabby.
Thanks a lot, I was hoping it would be a more common expression. Maybe it is
a pun with the sound of the word.
I'll have to try and see what I can do to make sense of it in portuguese.
Many thanks for your help,
Elsa T. S. Vieira
Jibble exists as an invented word in English. It is a nonsense word which |
can mean anything.
http://www.jibble.org/jibblemeaning.php
I can't see any connection between this and the use of the word in the book.
--
Peter Duncanson
UK (posting from a.e.u) |
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:53 pm
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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"Raymond S. Wise" <mplsrayNOSPAM@gbronline.com> wrote in message
news:6N-dnTpVe8WyzMHcRVn-sg@gbronline.com...
| Quote: | "John Flynn" <johnpf@lineone.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9574C525CC580johnpf@216.128.74.129...
Raymond S. Wise wrote, in part:
Elsa T. S. Vieira wrote:
Hello!
I'm a portuguese translator and I wonder if you could help with
something.
I'm translating this english book written in the '30s, so maybe this
is an
That's "English book."
I think it's "English book", actually!
Mixing punctuation styles is to be avoided. At the end of a sentence
ending
in a period, I, being an American who uses the traditional American style,
would write <"English book.">. For me to write <"English book".> there
would
be flatly wrong. When necessary, I'm happy to use angled brackets to
preserve the exact format from the original cite, as I have in this
paragraph, but I didn't consider my previous post to be such an occasion.
|
Ray,
I don't know that one can say that there is a traditional American style for
punctuating the end of a sentence ending in a period. I do know that some
people cite a particular publisher's style manual. I don't know that I have
ever seen reference to any other publisher's style manual in this matter.
I, however, learned the "other" way, back in the olden days. I don't call
my way "traditional", though I was taught by nuns from an ancient order, who
probably had some particular tradition in their training, too.
I would have used "English book".
However, not being involved in proofreading for publication, I first must
say that I wouldn't dream of commenting on the style you chose to use. I
had to puzzle over Flynn's comment, and hadn't understood why he chose that
reply, until I read your response. |
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Raymond S. Wise
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 1:28 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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"Pat Durkin" <durkinpa@peoplepc.com> wrote in message
news:bjd7d.575$gs1.438@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
| Quote: |
"Raymond S. Wise" <mplsrayNOSPAM@gbronline.com> wrote in message
news:6N-dnTpVe8WyzMHcRVn-sg@gbronline.com...
"John Flynn" <johnpf@lineone.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9574C525CC580johnpf@216.128.74.129...
Raymond S. Wise wrote, in part:
Elsa T. S. Vieira wrote:
Hello!
I'm a portuguese translator and I wonder if you could help with
something.
I'm translating this english book written in the '30s, so maybe
this
is an
That's "English book."
I think it's "English book", actually!
Mixing punctuation styles is to be avoided. At the end of a sentence
ending
in a period, I, being an American who uses the traditional American
style,
would write <"English book.">. For me to write <"English book".> there
would
be flatly wrong. When necessary, I'm happy to use angled brackets to
preserve the exact format from the original cite, as I have in this
paragraph, but I didn't consider my previous post to be such an
occasion.
Ray,
I don't know that one can say that there is a traditional American style
for
punctuating the end of a sentence ending in a period. I do know that some
people cite a particular publisher's style manual. I don't know that I
have
ever seen reference to any other publisher's style manual in this matter.
I, however, learned the "other" way, back in the olden days. I don't call
my way "traditional", though I was taught by nuns from an ancient order,
who
probably had some particular tradition in their training, too.
I would have used "English book".
However, not being involved in proofreading for publication, I first must
say that I wouldn't dream of commenting on the style you chose to use. I
had to puzzle over Flynn's comment, and hadn't understood why he chose
that
reply, until I read your response.
|
The punctuation style I used is said to have originated in typography. But
it was subsequently put to such pervasive use in printing in America that I
would be very surprised if even, say, five percent of Americans used the
other style when writing by hand. I certainly use it when I am writing
something by hand.
--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com |
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John Flynn
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 4:25 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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Pat Durkin wrote, in part:
| Quote: | However, not being involved in proofreading for publication, I first
must say that I wouldn't dream of commenting on the style you chose to
use. I had to puzzle over Flynn's comment, and hadn't understood why
he chose that reply, until I read your response.
|
I don't normally even notice the difference in punctuation styles these
days (five-and-a-bit years of reading AUE/AEU sort of dulls one's
sensitivity to such things after a while, I've found).
But Ray's response really stood out for me, since the use of quotation
marks was, in that example, sort of this-is-literally-what-I-am-saying-
it-should-be. If one is to take his advice about copying, literatim, the
contents stated within the quotation marks, then the so-called traditional
method seems rather confusing. "Yes, take notice of some of the text's
'style' (i.e., the capitalization), but ignore some other bits."
How about correcting the omission of a period/full-stop?
- I went to see Dr. Smith yesterday.
- I think that should be "Dr.."
Hmm.
--
johnF
"Before touching the knob Asakawa put on his rubber gloves."
-- _Ring_, Koji Suzuki |
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John Flynn
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 4:27 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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Correction:
| Quote: | How about correcting the omission of a period/full-stop?
- I went to see Dr Smith yesterday.
- I think that should be "Dr.."
Hmm.
|
--
johnF |
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 8:30 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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"John Flynn" <johnpf@lineone.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9575EED81BF27johnpf@216.128.74.13...
| Quote: | Correction:
How about correcting the omission of a period/full-stop?
- I went to see Dr Smith yesterday.
- I think that should be "Dr.."
Hmm.
|
It is to laugh. I still use the . with "Dr.", but find the comma after the
dot to be excessive. But then, putting quotes after the second period (full
stop?) or the comma isn't my way. There is much to be said about
modernizing am, pm, etc, etc. I am in sympathy with what Ray says about
most people here in the US, and only think of my punctuation when I post
messages to AUE and AEU. I try to be consistent within the messages,
because some people can be so picky, picky, that any import in the message
completely disappears in discussions of typography, style, and supposed
correctness. Ray is very helpful in getting some ideas clarified.
I have never written anything for publication, and even my theses days are
40 years in the past. But I do remember what my elementary and HS teachers
taught. |
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meirman
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 7:01 am
Post subject: Re: Jibble - what??? |
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In alt.english.usage on Thu, 30 Sep 2004 19:53:14 +0100 "Elsa T. S.
Vieira" <elsa.ts@netvisao.pt> posted:
| Quote: |
"Peter Duncanson" <mail@peterduncanson.net> wrote in message
news:tveol0li8oph24gb0usotpfj2v4q14hk80@4ax.com...
At first sight Jibble suggests, to me, two other words: jiggle and wobble.
These might describe the motion of a person who is fat and flabby.
|
Where was the book written. In the US, at least for the last 30 years,
a girl who jiggles jiggles in the right places and has a nice figure.
I'm not sure about 70 years ago.
(I didn't get your post, so I only know what is quoted here.)
| Quote: |
Thanks a lot, I was hoping it would be a more common expression. Maybe it is
a pun with the sound of the word.
I'll have to try and see what I can do to make sense of it in portuguese.
Many thanks for your help,
Elsa T. S. Vieira
|
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 20 years |
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