[The following two works on dress appear in the _London Catalogue:--The
Whole Art of Dress_, by a Country Officer, 12mo. Lond. 1830; and _The
Art of Dress, or a Guide to the Toilette_, fcp. 8vo., Lond. 1839.]
* * * * *
Replies.
"NAMBY-PAMBY," AND OTHER WORDS OF THE SAME FORM.
(Vol. viii., p. 318.)
The origin of the word _namby-pamby_ is explained in the following passage
of Johnson's _Life of Ambrose Philips_:
"The pieces that please best are those which from Pope and Pope's
adherents procured him the name of _namby-pamby_, the poems of short
lines, by which he paid his court to all ages and characters--from
Walpole, 'the steerer of the realm,' to Miss Pulteney in the nursery.
The numbers are smooth and sprightly, and the diction is seldom faulty.
They are not loaded with much thought, yet, if they had been written by
Addison, they would have had admirers. Little things are not valued but
when they are done by those who can do greater."
In the _Treatise on the Bathos_, the _infantine_ style is exclusively
exemplified by passages from Ambrose Philips:
"This [says Pope] is when a poet grows so very simple as to think and
talk like a child. I shall take my examples from the greatest master in
this way: hear how he fondles like a mere stammerer:
'Little charm of placid mien,
Miniature of Beauty's queen,
Hither, British Muse of mine,
Hither, all ye Grecian nine,
With the lovely Graces three,
And your pretty nursling see.
When the meadows next are seen,
Sweet enamel, white and green;
When again the lambkins play,
Pretty sportlings full of May,
Then the neck so white and round,
(Little neck with brilliants bound)
And thy gentleness of mind,
(Gentle from a gentle kind), &c.
Happy thrice, and thrice again,
Happiest he of happy men,' &c.
And the rest of those excellent lullabies of his composition."--C. xi.
These verses are stated by Warburton, in his note on the passage, to be
taken from a poem to {391} Miss Cuzzona. They are however in fact selected
from two poems addressed to daughters of Lord Carteret, and are put
together arbitrarily, out of the order in which they stand in the original
poems. There is a short poem by Philips in the same metre, addressed to
Signora Cuzzoni, and dated May 25, 1724, beginning, "Little syren of the
stage;" but none of the verses quoted in the _Treatise on the Bathos_ are
extracted from it.
_Namby-pamby_ belongs to a tolerably numerous class of words in our
language, all formed on the same rhyming principle. They are all familiar,
and some of them childish; which last circumstance probably suggested to
Pope the invention of the word _namby-pamby_, in order to designate the
infantine style which Ambrose Philips had introduced. Many of them,
however, are used by old and approved writers; and the principle upon which
they are formed must be of great antiquity in our language. The following
is a collection of words which are all formed in this manner:
_Bow-wow._--A word coined in imitation of a dog's bark. Compare the French
_aboyer_.
_Chit-chat._--Formed by reduplication from _chat_. A word (says Johnson)
used in ludicrous conversation. It occurs in the _Spectator_ and _Tatler_.
_Fiddle-faddle._--Formed in a similar manner from _to fiddle_, in its sense
of _to trifle_. It occurs in the _Spectator_.
_Flim-flam._--An old word, of which examples are cited from Beaumont and
Fletcher, and Swift. It is formed from _flam_, which Johnson calls "a cant
word of no certain etymology." _Flam_, for a lie, a cheat, is however used
by South, Barrow, and Warburton, and therefore at one time obtained an
admission into dignified style. See Nares' _Glossary_ in v.
_Hab or nab._--That is, according to Nares, have or have not; subsequently
abridged into _hab, nab_. _Hob or nob_ is explained by him to mean "Will
you have a glass of wine or not?" _Hob, nob_ is applied by Shakspeare to
another alternative, viz. give or take (_Twelfth Night_, Act III. Sc. 4.).
See Nares in v. _Habbe or Nabbe_.
_Handy-dandy._--"A play in which children change hands and places"
(Johnson). Formed from hand. The word is used by Shakspeare.
_Harum-scarum._--"A low but frequent expression applied to flighty persons;
persons always in a hurry" (Todd). Various conjectures are offered
respecting its origin: the most probable seems to be, that it is derived
from _scare_. The Anglo-Saxon word _hearmsceare_ means punishment (see
Grimm, _Deutsche Rechtsalterthümer_, p. 681.); but although the similarity
of sound is remarkable, it is difficult to understand how _harum-scarum_
can be connected with it.
_Helter-skelter._--Used by Shakspeare. Several derivations for this word
are suggested, but none probable.
_Higgledy-piggledy._--"A cant word, corrupted from _higgle_, which denotes
any confused mass, as _higglers_ carry a huddle of provisions together"
(Johnson). It seems more probable that the word is formed from _pig_; and
that it alludes to the confused and indiscriminate manner in which pigs lie
together. In other instances (as _chit-chat_, _flim-flam_, _pit-a-pat_,
_shilly-shally_, _slip-slop_, and perhaps _harum-scarum_), the word which
forms the basis of the rhyming reduplication stands second, and not first.
_Hocus-pocus._--The words _ocus bochus_ appear, from a passage cited in
Todd, to have been used anciently by Italian conjurers. The fanciful idea
of Tillotson, that _hocus-pocus_ is a corruption of the words _hoc est
corpus_, is well known. Compare Richardson _in v._
_Hoddy-doddy._--This ancient word has various meanings (see Richardson _in
v._). As used by Ben Jonson and Swift, it is expressive of contempt. In
Holland's translation of Pliny it signifies a snail. There is likewise a
nursery rhyme or riddle:
"Hoddy-doddy,
All legs and no body."
_Hodge-podge_ appears to be a corruption of _hotch-pot_. It occurs in old
writers. (See Richardson in _Hotch-pot_.)
_Hoity-toity._--Thoughtless, giddy. Formed from the old word _to hoit_, to
dance or leap, to indulge in riotous mirth. See Nares in _Hoit_ and _Hoyt_.
_Hubble-bubble._--A familiar word, formed from _bubble_. Not in the
dictionaries.
_Hubbub._--Used by Spenser, and other good writers. Richardson derives it
from _hoop_ or _whoop_, shout or yell. It seems rather a word formed in
imitation of the confused inarticulate noise produced by the mixture of
numerous voices, like _mur-mur_ in Latin.
_Hugger-mugger._--Used by Spenser, Shakspeare, and other old writers. The
etymology is uncertain. Compare Jamieson in _Hudge-mudge_. The latter part
of the word seems to be allied with _smuggle_, and the former part to be
the reduplication. The original and proper sense of hugger-mugger is
secretly. See Nares _in v._, who derives it from _to hugger_, to lurk
about; but query whether such a word can be shown to have existed?
_Humpty-dumpty._--Formed from _hump_. This word occurs in the nursery
rhyme:
"_Humpty-dumpty_ sat on a wall,
_Humpty-dumpty_ had a great fall," &c.
_Hurdy-gurdy._--The origin of this word, which is quoted from no writer
earlier than Foote, has not been explained. See Todd _in v._
_Hurly-burly._--This old word occurs in the well-known verses in the
opening scene of _Macbeth_--
"When the _hurly burly's_ done,
When the battle's lost and won"--
{392} where see the notes of the commentators for other instances of it.
There are rival etymologies for this word, but all uncertain. The French
has _hurlu-burlu_. Nares in _Hurly_.
_Hurry-scurry._--This word, formed from _hurry_, is used by Gray in his
_Long Story_.
_Nick-nack._--A small ornament. Not in the dictionaries.
_Pic-nic._--For the derivation of this word, which seems to be of French
origin, see "N. & Q.," Vol. vii., pp. 240. 387.
_Pit-pat, or Pit-a-pat._--A word formed from _pat_, and particularly
applied to the pulsations of the heart, when accelerated by emotion. Used
by Ben Jonson and Dryden. Congreve writes it _a-pit-pat_.
_Riff-raff._--The refuse of anything, "Il ne lui lairra rif ny raf."
Cotgrave in _Rif_, where _rif_ is said to mean nothing.
_Rolly-pooly._--"A sort of game" (Johnson). It is now used as the name of a
pudding rolled with sweetmeat.
_Rowdy-dowdy, and Rub-a-dub._--Words formed in imitation of the beat of a
drum.
_Shilly-shally._--Used by Congreve, and formerly written "shill I, shall
I."
_Slip-slop._--"Bad liquor. A low word, formed by reduplication of _slop_"
(Johnson). Now generally applied to errors in pronunciation, arising from
ignorance and carelessness, like those of Mrs. Malaprop in _The Rivals_.
_Tip-top._--Formed from _top_, like _slip-slop_ from _slop_.
_Tirra-lirra._--Used by Shakspeare:
"The lark that _tirra lirra_ chants."--_Winter's Tale_, Act IV. Sc. 2.