Sorrow

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

In one of the Simpsons books, Matt Groening has a series of articles listing and defining the slang of his schooldays. One of the words is "sorrow". Here's what he says:

sorrow: Sarcastic mispronunciation of the word "sorry", used in false apologies. I believe this slang term was unique to the boys in my sixth grade class. Example: "You broke my skateboard, man!" "Sorrow."

Many of the other terms he lists come from TV, books, or even Gilbert and Sullivan (grand pooh-bah (sic), the leader of their Komix Appreciation Klub), so it may have come from something one of them heard or read. Groening was born in 1954, so it's hard to know whether it came from Antonia Forest, perhaps via a parent, or whether Forest picked it up somewhere herself.

Have any Americans heard "sorrow" used like that?

Comments

[colne-dsr.livejournal.com]

It's not likely to be from AF, she wasn't published in America (except for Thursday Kidnapping).

I remember once seeing a letter in a football magazine from someone claiming to have invented the term "rush goalies" and claiming that no-one else ever used it. Whereas, of course, anyone who's ever played playground football probably knows it. It could be that Mr. Groening's case is similar - loads of people knew the term, he just didn't realise.

(Not that I've ever heard it outside AF.)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I've never heard it outside AF either, which is why I was intrigued.

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

Not sure about sorrow, but I did recognize "natch" -- I think my family picked it up from the Mitfords. (No, not directly: we were not so fortunate!)

[(Anonymous)]

'Natch' always makes me think of Just 17 where they used to use it a lot. I find it strange as old-fashined slang.

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't call it a 'sarcastic mispronunciation' so much as a sarcastic phrasing, more short for 'it grieves me to cause you such sorrow' - a bit pretentious?

I have no idea what a 'rush goalie' is.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Perhaps AF did too. Did you ever see "trimmensely" anywhere else?

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

No, but I could easily imagine someone saying "tremendously" that way. I wasn't sure if AF's characters were supposed to be saying it on purpose, or just pronouncing it that way, if you see what I mean. I looked on Google Books just now and found G.B. Stern using it twice.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I assumed they were combining two words, as in "ginormous". They have good vocabularies so I can't see them not being able to say "tremendously". I admit I probably (prolly?) wouldn't pick it up in speech.

[ivohenry.livejournal.com]

GB Stern abd AF were friends, so perhaps it was something they said to each other

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

I *thought* I remembered something to that effect, but G.B. Stern is one of those names that floats around in my head without an exact reference point: was she minor Bloomsbury? friend of Rebecca West? friend of AF? wasn't sure (I think she *did* know Rebecca West, too, but I might be mixing her up with someone else). I have never actually read anything by her.