[lit-ideas] Re: The arrogance of Americans and Marlene Dietrich
- From: David Ritchie <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 19:06:13 -0700
On May 8, 2008, at 5:59 PM, Robert Paul wrote:
Lawrence wrote
After posting my note I realized I had made a mistake in it. I
was only six when World War II broke out and so even less likely
to know what “ty-ty” means. Maybe Robert Paul who is much older
and wiser will know. If I had to guess, I would say it might be a
contraction of “hoity-toity.” The sense of what you quoted would
permit hoity-toity – sort of.
I think Lawrence's suggestion is right: 'hoity-toity,' and 'highty-
tighty' pick out the same concept, although 'hoity-toity' now seems
to be the preferred spelling. It isn't hard to see 'ty ty' as a
weird regional variant of the latter. Despite my age and innocence,
I've never heard an American say 'ty ty' to mean either hoity-toity
or highty-tighty (or to mean anything, for that matter). When I saw
the expression in David's post, I thought of Nöel Coward. Don't ask
me why.
Both these hyphenated expressions seem to mean 'arrogant and
aloof,' so I'm not clear why they would be used to explain why
Dietrich's looks were disappointing.
Perhaps he preferred the wholesome, farm-raised type?
Until I can think of another explanation, I'll go with yours. The
nearest Partridge can come--and he's usually very good on military
slang--is tyo for "tired." Dietrich was looking rather tired or
haggard? I think it's more likely that someone found her eyebrows a
little too intimidatingly elegant.
This is very good on how the meaning of hoity-toity changed over time:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/hoity-toity.html
David etc.------------------------------------------------------------------
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