Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 13:06:49 +0000

From: Aaron Drews aaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]LING.ED.AC.UK

Subject: Re: Taffy



On Tue, 9 Dec 1997, Roger Smith wrote:



}Taffy is not a derogatory term for a Welsh boy - it's a generic term,

}just as Jock is for a Scotsman, Yank is for an American, and Limey is

}for an Englishman.



Well, it was a Welshman's interpretation that I sent, and he takes

it as derogatory. Perhpas derogatory is a bit strong, because "Yank" and

"Limey" are certainly not positive words, but not derogatory. If there is

going to be contempt when one refers to these nationalities, these would

be the words used (along with other ones, to be sure).



}

}To welsh (not welch) a bet is to renege on it; to refuse to pay up.

}



I believe that was clarified in previous posts. I guess, though,

one has to be a gambler to be aware of the phrase. All I was doing was

trying to get a Welshman's opinion/interpretation of the words, since

there seem to be so few signed up on this list. One student's

interpretation isn't Gospel, but I'd say his intuition is slightly more

informed than, say, all of us Yanks talking here. :)

--Aaron



=====================================================================

======

Aaron E. Drews http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/~aaron

Ph.D. Candidate +44 (0)131 650-3485

The University of Edinburgh fax: +44 (0)131 650-3962

Departments of Linguistics and English Language