P.G. Word-House
So one of our regular customers at the wineshop overheard me talking about Hugh Laurie and House M.D. and he informed me that the English show that Hugh Laurie was known for was a series of Jeeves & Wooster adaptations. He then highly recommended them saying that both Laurie as Bernie Wooster and the guy playing Jeeves were great.
So I hooked them up straight away on Netflix. 1) Because he seems to be a guy of decent taste and 2) He really is a very, very, very nice regular at the wineshop. Always a pleasure to see. Anyway, I'm watching the first episode and am LAUGHING MY ASS OFF when Jeeves throws off the comment that he believes the word "hooch" is of "eskimo origin."
Well ... you know I just had to check that out. I mean it sounds outrageously silly enough to be a bit of fanciful whimsy, and yet you would think a writer like P.G. Wodehouse would have his ducks that tightly in a row. Off to the OED went I.
Turns out "hooch" is short for "hoochino," which is the name for -- wait for it -- a tribe of the Tlingit Indians, a name which became slang for a type of alcohol they produced and drank. (Probably by someone saying, "Is that that Hoochino stuff?" "Hey, pour me some more of that Hoochino!") By the early 1900s the word in its more familiar abbreviated form had made its way down from the Klondike into parlance in the continental U.S.
Amazing.
So I hooked them up straight away on Netflix. 1) Because he seems to be a guy of decent taste and 2) He really is a very, very, very nice regular at the wineshop. Always a pleasure to see. Anyway, I'm watching the first episode and am LAUGHING MY ASS OFF when Jeeves throws off the comment that he believes the word "hooch" is of "eskimo origin."
Well ... you know I just had to check that out. I mean it sounds outrageously silly enough to be a bit of fanciful whimsy, and yet you would think a writer like P.G. Wodehouse would have his ducks that tightly in a row. Off to the OED went I.
Turns out "hooch" is short for "hoochino," which is the name for -- wait for it -- a tribe of the Tlingit Indians, a name which became slang for a type of alcohol they produced and drank. (Probably by someone saying, "Is that that Hoochino stuff?" "Hey, pour me some more of that Hoochino!") By the early 1900s the word in its more familiar abbreviated form had made its way down from the Klondike into parlance in the continental U.S.
Amazing.
posted by - caj at 9:04 PM
4 Comments:
And of course, let's not forget my man Lee's recommendation. That's the nail in the old Recommendation Coffin!
I absolutely agree. I am a big fan of the written and Fry & Laurie versions of Jeeves & Wooster. Well, seasons 1 and 2 of the tv version. I understand season 3 was not necessarily based on source material, and is not really as good.
Now you must read Thank You, Jeeves. The bits with Brinkley, the Butter Slide, and Pauline Stoker in Bertram's heliotrope Pyjamas... well, I mean!
The ultimate Bertie is absolutely Hugh Laurie - one cannot imagine a better Wooster no matter how one might r one's b.
I saw the delightful Mr. Fry playing both master AND servant live at the Hasty Pudding in Boston many moons ago, and he was nothing short of brilliant. That said,I find his Jeeves both too young and too mean. I feel the ultimate Jeeves was played by the the late John Gielgud (under the nom du buttle of "Hobson") in the film Arthur.
Jeeves/Wooster is pretty popular in our residence, too - read the books, have ALL the BBC series (even the not amazing ones) and even had a copy of the audio books for a cross-country drive!
If you enjoyed, I recommend Fry's performance in another Brit gem: Cold Comfort Farm. He's got a supporting part that is just absurd - and the incredible talent involved (ian McCellan among many others) is fun to watch chewing up the scenery!
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