Could he, mayhap, be related to the famous "Snallygaster," a well-known monster of the Ozark highlands? Similar to the Leed's devil of southern New Jersey, it is reported to shape-shift, resulting in different people sighting different types of horrific monsters in the same area at the same time. I personally believe that it is no monster at all, but an unhappy apparition of some sort. The Dutch/German settlers of central Pennsylvania had the same term for local poltergeists, though they used the term "schnell geister," or "quick spirit."
I thought you were making that up, so I googled and, sure enough, there be snallygasters up in them hills.
I don't see how they couldn't be related. I found snollygoster in the wonderful "You All Spoken Here," by Roy Wilder, Jr. (That's also where I found the words swarpin, runction and flindered used in Manny Loburn.) A snollygoster is a southernism for a boastful braggart, usually one looking to get to elected to public office by any means necessary. Such a critter could have been an incarnation of snallygaster, I suppose. But then there's this: Wilder says "Snollygoster began life in the South as a colloqialism for tadpole, or polywog." And to further cloud the issue, Wikipedia says of your word "A snallygaster is also a beverage composed of Mountain Dew and vanilla ice cream, created to promote Mountain Dew in the 1960s." Go figure.
Oh, my. I guess there's just too many damn people making up words, and not enough verbiage to go around.. Let me know if I can help rid the world of some of them. I'm available.
By the by, my info comes from Vance Randolph's "We Only Lie to Strangers," a compendium of Ozark tall tales. Currently out of print, of course.
It's not that Snolly Goster was a blowhard windbag; he was just a mite full of himself.
Could he, mayhap, be related to the famous "Snallygaster," a well-known monster of the Ozark highlands? Similar to the Leed's devil of southern New Jersey, it is reported to shape-shift, resulting in different people sighting different types of horrific monsters in the same area at the same time. I personally believe that it is no monster at all, but an unhappy apparition of some sort. The Dutch/German settlers of central Pennsylvania had the same term for local poltergeists, though they used the term "schnell geister," or "quick spirit."
ReplyDeleteThen again, it might have no relation at all.
I thought you were making that up, so I googled and, sure enough, there be snallygasters up in them hills.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how they couldn't be related. I found snollygoster in the wonderful "You All Spoken Here," by Roy Wilder, Jr. (That's also where I found the words swarpin, runction and flindered used in Manny Loburn.) A snollygoster is a southernism for a boastful braggart, usually one looking to get to elected to public office by any means necessary. Such a critter could have been an incarnation of snallygaster, I suppose. But then there's this: Wilder says "Snollygoster began life in the South as a colloqialism for tadpole, or polywog." And to further cloud the issue, Wikipedia says of your word "A snallygaster is also a beverage composed of Mountain Dew and vanilla ice cream, created to promote Mountain Dew in the 1960s." Go figure.
Oh, my. I guess there's just too many damn people making up words, and not enough verbiage to go around.. Let me know if I can help rid the world of some of them. I'm available.
ReplyDeleteBy the by, my info comes from Vance Randolph's "We Only Lie to Strangers," a compendium of Ozark tall tales. Currently out of print, of course.
My Wilder can beat your Randolph any day.
ReplyDelete