Belated Berfdays!

[the_gneech]

Happy belated birthday to allan_trembler and pocket_entropy! As your present, here's the last bit of Forgotten English from 2005!

scurryfunge
A hasty tidying of the house between the time you see a neighbor and the time she knocks on the door.

--John Gould's Maine Lingo: Boiled Owls, Billdads, and Wuzzats, 1975

The custom of New Year's calling is prevalent in all cities and most villages in the country, and so agreeable a custom that it is becoming more in favor every year. This is the day when gentlemen keep up their acquaintanceships with ladies and families, some of whom they are unable to see, probably, during the whole year. Of late, it has been customary in many cities to publish in newspapers, a day or two before New Years, a list of the ladies who will receive calls on that day, and from this list gentlemen arrange their calls. For convenience, and to add to the pleasure of the day, several ladies unite in receiving calls at the residence of one of their number. ... Refreshments may consist of oysters, raw or scalloped, cold meats, salads, fruits, cakes, sandwiches, etc. and hot tea and coffee. ... A gentleman does not make calls the first New Year's after his marriage.

--John H. Young's Our Deportment, 1882

-The Gneech

Comments

[kaysho.livejournal.com]

Now that is one I will remember, because I do that all the time. Just call me a scurryfunger. :)