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Archiver > ABOUT-WORDS > 2003-04 > 1050305012


From: Phil & Heather <>
Subject: Re: list trimming -- lurkers beware!
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 08:23:32 +0100
In-Reply-To: <a0431014fbabfe4d8863d@[216.114.174.17]>


Hi Ruth,

A costermonger is a person who sells articles especially fruit and
vegetables from a street barrow or stall. It is a corruption of
costardmonger from costard a kind of large apple and monger. I would guess
that it originates in London UK where the natives, the Cockneys, would call
a barrow a "barrer" or "barra" and would pronounce coster as if it were
spelt costa! In the same way we have an ironmonger who is a dealer in
hardware and a fishmonger who sells fish and the gossipmonger a spreader of
gossip, a rumourmonger a spreader of rumours and a warmonger a spreader of war.

Thus we have the two meanings of coster - a seller or dealer, or one who
spreads (or deals in) something not so pleasant.

The word monger originates from Old English mangere from Latin, mangon-,
mango a dealer.

COCKNEY: a native of London and traditionally born within the sound of Bow
bells, the bells of the church of St Mary-le-Bow. Well known for their
rhyming slang some of which I append below.

Apples - Apples and Pears - Stairs
Butchers - Butcher's Hook - Look
Trouble - Trouble and Strife - Wife
Rosie - Rosie Lee - Tea
Barnet - Barnet Fair - Hair
Plates - Plates of Meat - Feet
Ruby - Ruby Murray - Curry
Syrup - Syrup of Figs - Wig
Boracic - Boracic Lint - Skint (short of money)

Phil

We, the Brits, use some of these without perhaps knowing the origin of
them. We take a butcher's at something meaning we take a look at it.


At 05:14 AM 4/14/2003, Ruth Barton wrote:

>Now I do have a question. What the deuce is a COSTAMONGER, is it the same
>as a GUTTERSNIPE? Thanks and thanks for this great list. Ruth

Member of Kent FHS, NW Kent FHS, GLSFHS, CONFHS, DEVFHS, SoG, GOONS
I use and recommend CD's from ACDB for my One Name Study research
http://www.archivecdbooks.org/


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