TUCKER

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7419
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

TUCKER

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:39 pm

• tucker •

Pronunciation: têk-êr • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, transitive

Meaning: (Regional slang) To tire completely, to exhaust, to fully wear out.

Notes: Every now and then we like to toss in a popular slang or regional term and today we have just the word for that category: tucker as in "plumb tuckered out". This phrase is still moderately common down South, especially in the Southwest. Plumb in that phrase is just as interesting. Anything that is plumb is absolutely level, perfectly aligned, so it is easy to see how in some areas it became a synonym of absolutely and perfectly.

In Play: In addition to a geographical region where this word is heard, there is a generational region as well: the upper age levels: "I don't like riding these new-fangled bicycles that don't even have wheels because they tucker me out something awful and I don't even get anywhere!" Yes, using today's Good Word is going to make you sound as senior-citizenly as new-fangled does: "Doesn't it tucker you out any talking like a TV announcer all the time?"

Word History: A tucker was someone who finished woven materials by stretching them on tenters. Tuckers 'tucked', that is, stretched to the limit, newly woven cloth before putting it on sale. Plumb tuckered out would be the state of someone who had just been stretched to their limit, as though on a rack. (Today's Good Word is dedicated to one of my childhood heroes, actor George 'Gabby' Hayes [1885-1969], pictured above, who often found himself "plumb tuckered out" from supporting the leading man in the 190 mostly western movies he played in.)
• The Good Dr. Goodword

Bailey
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2114
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:51 pm

Postby Bailey » Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:34 am

and here I thought tucker was some mighty good vittles.

mark hungry? Bailey

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb









Perry
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2306
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:50 am
Location: Asheville, NC

Postby Perry » Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:26 am

As a noun, it is. But it seems to be short for bush tucker.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
Anonymous

skinem
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1197
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:33 pm
Location: Middle Tennessee

Postby skinem » Fri Jun 29, 2007 5:31 pm

I'm tired of bush tucker! Too much in younger days...

Truthfully, it's Friday afternoon and I'm just plumb tuckered out...

User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7419
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

'Tucker' in Australia and New Zealand

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:37 pm

My blog today was a response to the robust reply from our Aussie and Kiwi readers to the verb tucker. They quite rightly brought to my attention the fact that tucker down under is a slang word for US grub (food).

The noun has been added to the list and will come up some time in the future.
• The Good Dr. Goodword

Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

Postby Stargzer » Tue Jul 03, 2007 2:13 pm

Doc! Surely thou art of such an age that thou couldst not forget the lyric from Waltzing Matilda, even if you never saw On the Beach!
Down came a jumbuck to drink from the billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
See Tucker for tucker and bush tucker.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot], Google [Bot] and 43 guests