Posted by Adam Quinan on April 28, 2015 at 13:21:05 user Adam.
I managed to get Arthur Ransome into Michael Quinion's World Wide Words newsletter. Someone else proffered a groanworthy pun.
He had discussed the origins of the word "galoot" in an earlier one suggesting it might have nautical or Australian origins.
Galoot. From Adam Quinan: “Arthur Ransome’s pirate heroine, Nancy Blackett, often refers to her younger sister Peggy as a galoot in Swallows and Amazons (published in 1930). That is where I first encountered it. Whether Ransome came across the word through his sailing interests or his Australian family connection or whether it was just part of his vocabulary acquired growing up I have no idea.” William Hommon added, “Your excellent discussion of galoot reminded me of one of the worst (ie, best) puns of all time. There was this old guy who was married twice and had 10 boys by his first wife and 11 by his second. He was a 21-son galoot!”
Post a followup (Only if you agree to the Terms and Conditions)