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Search - The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren

The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren
Author: Iona Archibald Opie, Peter Opie

First published in 1959, Iona and Peter Opie’s The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren is a pathbreaking work of scholarship that is also a splendid and enduring work of literature. Going outside the nursery, with its assortment of parent-approved entertainments, to observe and investigate the day-to-day creative intelligence and activitie... more »s of children, the Opies bring to life the rites and rhymes, jokes and jeers, laws, games, and secret spells of what has been called “the greatest of savage tribes, and the only one which shows no signs of dying out.”

Contents:

Introduction --
Preface --
Acknowledgements --
List of distribution maps --
1. Introductory --
Continuity --
Apparent uniformity --
Speed of oral transmission --
Wear and repair during transmission --
Sources of the thymes --
Regional variation --
2. Just for fun --
Satirical rhymes --
Nonsense rhymes --
Tangletalk --
Thymes and songs in Scotland --
Nonsense verse in Wales --
Puns, tongue twisters, and tales which never end --
Ghoulism --
Spookies --
Scout and guide songs --
3. Wit and repartee --
Crooked answers --
Having the last word --
Juvenile correctives --
Wordsmanship --
Stale jokes and sale news --
Street jeers --
4. Guile --
Tricks inflicting pain --
"Made you look" --
Spitting jokes --
Trick bets --
Self-incrimination traps --
Minor imbecilities --
Trick spelling and arithmetic --
Either-way tricks --
Embarrassers --
5. Riddles --
True riddles --
Rhyming riddles --
Punning riddles --
Conundrums --
Wellerisms --
Catch riddles --
The fun of riddling --
6. Parody and impropriety --
Hymns and carols --
Nursery rhymes --
Popular songs --
Recitations --
The improper. 7. Topical rhymes --
1930-1939 --
World War II --
Victory songs --
1945-1958 --
Legendary heroes --
Lottie Collins --
Charlie Chaplin --
Mickey Mouse --
Popeye --
Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin --
Dog film stars --
Betty Grable --
Beefcake and cheesecake --
British stars --
Davy Crockett --
8. Code of oral legislation --
Affirmation --
Testing truthfulness --
Bets --
Bargain making --
Swooping --
Giving --
Gaining possession--
Claiming precedence --
Avoiding --
Secret keeping --
Obtaining respite --
9. Nicknames and epithets --
Characteristics of schoolchild language --
Their own name --
Other people's names --
Traditional nicknames --
Approval and disapproval --
School dinners --
Drinks --
Ice creams --
Sweets --
Greedy-guts --
Fatties --
Skinnies --
Lankies --
Little 'uns --
Red heads --
The funny faced --
Spectacles --
School subjects --
10. Unpopular children : jeers and torments --
Spoil-sports, sourpusses, spitfires --
Clever-dicks --
Dafties, fools, dunces --
Copy-cats, cribbers, cheats --
Swankpots --
Nosey parkers --
Stare-cats --
Cowards --
Cry-babies --
Sneaks --
Crawlers --
Bullies --
Sending away --
Inducing quiet --
Intimidation --
Fighting --
Retribution --
Ordeals --
Tortures --
Hair pulling. 11. Half-belief --
Juvenile attitude to folklore --
Ambulances --
Omens on the way to school --
Lines on pavements --
Finding things --
Luck in exams --
Luck in games --
Courage --
12. Children's calendar --
New Year's Day --
St. Valentine's Day --
Shrove Tuesday --
Ash Wednesday --
Kissing Friday --
Mothering Sunday --
April Fool's Day --
Taily Day --
Good Friday --
Easter --
Mischief Night (30 April) --
May Day--
Garland Day --
Empire Day --
Royal Oak Day --
St. James's Day --
Punkie Night --
Hallowe'en --
All Soul's Day --
Mischief Night (4 November) --
Guy Fawkes Day --
Christmas Coming --
Christmas --
St. Stephen's Day --
New Year's Eve --
13. Occasional customs --
New boys and initiation rites --
Special holidays --
End of term --
First of the month --
Birthdays --
New clothes --
At weddings --
When teeth come out. 14. Some curiosities --
The million bus tickets --
Saying the same thing at once --
Curing warts --
Cocking snooks --
Secret languages --
15. Friendship and fortune --
Making and breaking friends --
Attitudes to opposite sex --
Character reading --
Love tokens --
Bus tickets --
Conveying, ensuring, and testing affection --
Finding sweetheart's name or identity --
Telling fortunes --
16. Partisanship --
Sectarian rhymes --
Salvation Army --
Boys' Brigade and Boy Scouts --
Elections --
Sport --
Village rivalry --
School rivalry --
17. The child and authority --
Types of teachers --
Songs about teachers --
Teachers' jokes --
Latecomers --
Late teachers --
Time to go home? --
The police --
Playing truant --
Keeping lookout --
Beatings --
Condolence. 18. Pranks --
Door knocking and bell ringing --
Prevalence of pranks --
Pedestrian duping --
Booby traps --
Kicking doors --
Mechanical knocking --
Window tapping --
Door tied to movable object --
Door tied to immovable object --
Geographical index --
First line index --
General index.

ISBN-13: 9780940322691
ISBN-10: 0940322692
Publication Date: 4/9/2001
Pages: 488
Rating:

Currently 4/5 Stars.

4 stars, based on 1 rating

Publisher: New York Review Books
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 2
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Genres:

Children's Books >> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z >> ( O ) >> Opie, Peter & Iona
Nonfiction >> Social Sciences >> Sociology >> General
Nonfiction >> Social Sciences >> Children's Studies

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