Bodacious




‘Bodily, totally, root and branch,’ a phrase pressed into one word, ‘bodyaciously’ is given as the etymology for this word: slang from South Carolina. 

Bodacious, in use from 1837 or earlier, may also be a blend of bold and audacious: a word composited from two synonyms.

It was also the name of a bull famous for head butting rodeo contestants.

Comedic chaos.

Language should be this: like us: it requires play to fully live. 







Comments

Jo said…
Love it. Especially the bit about the bull. Funny thing to call him. I've heard the word, probably when in North Carolina. I love word origins.
3 April 2015 at 00:09
Jo said…
How's this for coincidence I went from your blog to Nancy Mock's Hungry Enough to Eat Six and what does she do, wishes her dad a bodacious birthday. http://hungryenoughtoeatsix.com/2015/04/b-is-for-black-white-sandwiches-from-arrow-book-of-easy-cooking
3 April 2015 at 00:17
The Cranky said…
I'd read somewhere, years ago, that it was based on the historical figure of Boudicca. I prefer your playful interpretation.
3 April 2015 at 01:19
Stephen Tremp said…
There was a guy back in the day who used that word every sixty seconds. We'd laugh as he was a funny guy and that's really all he added to a conversation.
3 April 2015 at 02:16
Cygnus said…
Why does this bring to mind the gnarly, radical Jeff Spicoli? :-)
3 April 2015 at 04:45
Geo. said…
I first read the word in the mid-1950s in the Sunday newspaper comics --which is where I learned reading-- in Al Capp's strip "Li'l Abner". Bodacious meant something powerful and pleasant and I have not found it necessary to further define it. I sure appreciate this expanded etymology in your post, though. We are bodacious, Lisa!
3 April 2015 at 04:54
Unknown said…
That's one Bodacious Bull! Just a suggestion, but the comment button on your blog is really hard to see. You may want to change the color so you get more comments! :-)
3 April 2015 at 12:26
Lisa Southard said…
Hope he did have just that - no bull! ;-)
3 April 2015 at 20:30
Lisa Southard said…
Boudicca is a more impressive historical source though- I want this to be true!
3 April 2015 at 20:33
Lisa Southard said…
This word is often overused- but mostly with good humour :-)
3 April 2015 at 20:37
Lisa Southard said…
Righteous word! :-)
3 April 2015 at 20:43
Lisa Southard said…
To the bone, I say! :-)
3 April 2015 at 20:44
Lisa Southard said…
Thank you Lauren- valid suggestion! Blog is due some sprucing so that can go on the To Do list :-)
3 April 2015 at 20:47
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contact Pants Conundrum

Image
There is weather today, I do note it: take a few moments to reckon the size of a cloud (big) and the frequency of rain (sporadic.) Centre of my interest though is a stack of magazines. Not the fashion kind. This is martial arts research. I'm not even sure what it is I'm looking for, but intuition calls loud. A range of old adverts skew some amusement. Contact pants, for example. Pants are not trousers where I come from. They are underwear. Professional contact pants: improved smirk value. But why would a person be likely to purchase a grappling hook and a lock pick set? For specialists and hobbyists only, the blurb assures. Guidance on the pheromone spray that attracts women against their better judgement? I doubt it works any more proficiently than the mysterious potion that defines your muscles while you sleep. But, then: I wonder is some sprayed on this paper? What was my intuition thinking, making this ghastly shout… Tea break time. There's a lot of words
Read more

A Candle Lit

Image
We live by the light of those we love, whether they are here or gone. That light is inextinguishable. To have the light and not the company is an adjustment process we call grief. Loss is a shadow, equal to the light. We adjust not to lose the shadow but to see both. Hard to bear - yet without darkness, light cannot show its full wonder. Let us look after each other, then, and value our days, our company, and live to leave vast shadows, and understand that pain is a strange gift, a tender, haunting, purposed gift. And if you are grieving: let your tears flow, let your anger shout, let yourself plead and deny and feel terrible: it is not an easy process.  Know that other people know grief.  Know that other people are hurt to see you grieve.  Know that love is a fundamental response. There is no time limit to this adjustment process. No right or wrong way to feel. One day you will stand back and see that the shadow is proof to the strength of the light, a
Read more

Dear World

Image
31/12/23 Sunday Last day of the week, last day of the year. A time to assess, to question. Are we where we want to be? How far off? How does this happen, and why? Is this end of year or end of all days? And what on earth do we do about it? Much as I adore the glitz of festive days, a glimpse at current events brings heavy awareness. So, now what? Four quotes (all by old white guys, but useful nevertheless) sift into view as I flinch from the destruction of people and planet. ‘Know all the theories, master all the techniques, but as you touch a human soul, just be another human soul.’  CG Jung People can be hard to bear at times, but if you find a connecting point this is a powerful force, something beyond knowledge. Understanding and change can flow from it. A unity of souls. ‘Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.’ Nietzsche One of the common things done to justify terrible actions is to create ‘them and us’ narratives. A disunity
Read more