Author Topic: Possible Missing Word(s), Standard Puzzle, 22 March  (Read 2031 times)

Ozzyjack

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Possible Missing Word(s), Standard Puzzle, 22 March
« on: March 23, 2014, 11:35:30 AM »
I was a little surprised to have "arsy" and "arsey" rejected in yesterdays "assuredly" puzzle.  I would not expect them to be common in the Chihuahua sense of the word if they aren't as widely used in other countries as they are in the Australian vernacular.  I couldn't, of course, test the other possible variation given in the Macquarie Dictionary "arsie" because "i" wasn't one of the letters.  I guess an American variation might be "assy".

The term is most often used in Australia as an adjective to a noun reflecting on the legitimacy of the the marriage of the subject's parents and is an ironically affectionate way of saying "you lucky fellow"
Regards, Jack

cmh

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Re: Possible Missing Word(s), Standard Puzzle, 22 March
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2014, 08:17:11 AM »
I had also  tried these variants. To me (in the UK)  they refer to a persons manner. Someone has an arsy / arsey attitude if they speak to me in a high handed , unreasonable and rude manner. Sadly as a sales person I am often on the receiving end of such bad manners!

Alan W

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Re: Possible Missing Word(s), Standard Puzzle, 22 March
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2014, 06:11:01 PM »
This word, in its Australian version, is quite well-known to me.

As it happens, one of the example quotes for it in the Australian National Dictionary is from a book my father wrote: "I was real arsy to pick up a job here." (No Sunlight Singing (1960), by Joe Walker)

The Australian dictionaries all have the Australian meaning, lucky. The Oxford Dictionary of English has the Australian usage and the British one mentioned by cmh, "bad-tempered or uncooperative". The Collins Dictionary has the British one. So the word is in several dictionaries. It is also in use: there are plenty of examples of the word in the Aussie sense on Whirlpool, a popular Australian forum site. And there are quite a few examples on the Guardian website of the British usage.

From what I can see, the spellings arsey and arsy are often used, but arsie rarely if ever. So I think I should add arsey and arsy, along with arsier and arsiest, which are the inflected forms according to the Oxford.

I don't think arsey / arsy would be known to many Americans, so the added entries must be classed as rare.
Alan Walker
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