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