cornball

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mmb16
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cornball

Postby mmb16 » Sun Oct 05, 2014 11:51 am

I was talking to my husband about my father, who used to say about leftovers, "I don't want to see it go to waste, so I'll have it go to my waist" and mentioned that you could take that two ways. Anyway, he said my dad had a real cornball sense of humor. And I wondered, where did that word come from -- cornball?

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Slava
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Re: cornball

Postby Slava » Sat Dec 13, 2014 4:25 pm

As one might guess, this is related to corny. They mean the same thing, but in the mid-19th century someone decided to add the -ball bit, just as in screwball and oddball.

Corny is thought to have come from the idea that corny things appeal to rustic folks, i.e. corn growers, with simple thoughts and not much eddycashun.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Perry Lassiter
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Re: cornball

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sat Dec 13, 2014 8:30 pm

Hey I love the fact that we now have several newcomers who comment with some regularity. That's great, and I hope they all keep it up.
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