Comments on: Everyman No. 3333 (15th August)

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:08:11 +0000

tupu

Maybe. I’ve heard it used that way too, but usually as an intensifier for ‘big’. You’d say ‘a thumping big lorry’, but probably not ‘a thumping little lorry’. One of the many mysteries of the English language to keep us occupied and entertained.

By: tupu

tupu — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:36:28 +0000

K’s Dad
It suddenly strikes me it must be a euphemism for f..k. I remember one also used to hear ‘a thumping great…’ (lorry, or whatever).

By: tupu

tupu — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:25:01 +0000

Sorry – the last ‘to’ should be ‘too’.

By: tupu

tupu — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:09:13 +0000

HI Kathryn’s Dad
Many thanks.
I suspect ‘What the thump’ has been more widespread in its time than simply the NW. My father used to know a diminutive old time Polish immigrant whose English wasn’t very good and who used to travel around taking orders for coloured pictures (aerograph work)to be made from odd images people had (a so-called ‘picture faker’). I remember a story that he was in Wales doing this and when he knocked at one door, a burly miner opened it,
looked down at him and said ‘What the thump!?’. He had reported to my Dad that he simply returned his gaze and said ‘What the thump to you to!’. Of course it might well have been north Wales.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:29:58 +0000

Evening tupu

I seem to remember you saying that you were brought up in the North West, so you’re probably best placed to answer your own question – I’m from the North-East, where this expression doesn’t exist.

‘Ecky I can understand as a euphemism for ‘Ell – ‘What the heck?’ and ‘What the hell?’, but the ‘thump’ bit … no idea.

Perhaps Everyman is from that part of the world and can enlighten us – otherwise a chance for a lurker to come out of the closet and tell us.

By: tupu

tupu — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:51:44 +0000

To my own surprise I can’t find any reference to ‘What the thump?!’ on Google. It was a saying common in my father’s time and I heard it from him. He had known it from at least his teens i.e. 1920s.

Does K’s dad or anyone else know this expression or what ‘the thump’ is a euphemism of? It seems to have been used instead of ‘what the Hell?’.

By: tupu

tupu — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:13:29 +0000

Thanks Lorraine and Everyman

A good puzzle, though I didn’t notice the threes and managed well enough without them just going clue to clue.

Ecky thump did not ring an immediate bell. I knew ‘What the thump?’ though and Becky so that helped to guess it right.

12 had to be ‘spin’ but I was puzzled why. I’m sure you are right. I assumed it was something to do with ‘spinning’ a yarn.

I liked 1a, 10, and 8 and several others pleased.

By: sidey

sidey — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:54:20 +0000

Has Everyman done a themed puzzle before? The four 3′s of 3333 were very naturally included. Excellent.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:11:00 +0000

Yes, good as always from Everyman. I just knew ECKY THUMP, goodness knows from where; good job though, because Vanity Fair is outside my knowledge base (what this says about my knowledge base is another question of course …)

I’ll go to the foot of our stairs … thank you Lorraine and Everyman.

By: Stella

Stella — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:04:15 +0000

Thanks for that info, Anax. I love the black sausage fight image – the ones produced locally where I live are famous throughout Spain, but I’ve never seen them used that way, despite the Spaniards’ love of throwing food or wine over each other on feast days – ‘la tomatina’ in Buñol (Valencia), for example http://www.latomatina.org/