Flibbertigibbet
Those of you who know me well, recognise that I would never, not for one brief moment, make any boasting reference to my numerous linguistic qualifications, (of which there are 347 in total).
As a Professor Of Obscure Phonology, (POOP), and a founder member of Generative Linguists of the Old World, (GLOW), modesty forbids it.
However, I was recently invited to become President of the DULL organisation. Naturally, I imagined it to be a group of Dedicated Unusually Literate Linguists.
I have since discovered that it is a club for Dreary, Unimaginative, Loud-mouthed Layabouts.
To prove that this is a base slander, here is the story behind the word Flibbertigibbet.
Many modern words and phrases are contractions of ancient sayings.
�Goodbye.� = �May God be with ye.�
�GorBlimey.� = �May God blind me if I am not telling the truth.�
�Gossip� = Conversation between �God�s Siblings� � but it gradually changed, and became �Harmful Chatter�.
In a somewhat similar way, �Flibbertigibbet� is derived from the phrase: �Fly-by-the-gibbett�. (gibbet=scaffold).
Linguists have never been able to discover the exact meaning of this phrase, but by applying NLP, (Natural Language Processing), I can confidently say that it belongs in the same category as:
�Never end a sentence with a Preposition � end it with a Full Stop.�
�Make Hay, while the Sun shines on the Righteous and the Unrighteous alike!�
�A Stitch in Thyme stops the Leaves fraying.�
�Sic transit gloria mundi.� = Thus passes the glory of the world.
Or, as they say where I live: �Gloria was sick, travelling on Monday.�
Need I say more?
Les Douglas
Val 
