American "Mairzy" Dottiness, Sir John Fastolf's Secretary, and the "Law French" of a Caroline Cavalier

Antecedents of wordplay like that found in the 1940s song "Mairzy Doats" are explored. The impressive influence of the song & explanations of its source of inspiration are recounted. Similar misplaced word junctures (mairzy doats = 'mares eat oats') have appeared in schoolchi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American speech 1995-12, Vol.70 (4), p.361-370
Main Author: RANDALL, D. B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic libraries
Cottages
Diachrony and historical linguistics
Libraries
Linguistics
Moorlands
Music publishing
Oats
Orchards
Syllables
Writers
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Antecedents of wordplay like that found in the 1940s song "Mairzy Doats" are explored. The impressive influence of the song & explanations of its source of inspiration are recounted. Similar misplaced word junctures (mairzy doats = 'mares eat oats') have appeared in schoolchildren's lore for many years. "Mairzies" referring to mares, goats, & lambs & their diets can be traced through approximately 150 years of literature. Early parallels are found in the beguiling language ("Law French") used by a character in a play by William Cavendish (1635) & in a note by William Worcester (circa 1460), secretary to Sir John Fastolf. 27 References. E. Taylor
ISSN:0003-1283
1527-2133
DOI:10.2307/455617