Page 1 of 1

TOBOGGAN

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 10:55 pm
by Dr. Goodword

• toboggan •

Pronunciation: tê-bah-gên • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. A long, flat sled traditionally made of slats curled up in front, but often made of plastic in the same shape today. 2. (Regional, US South) A plain knit cap with no bill or earflaps.

Notes: Well, winter has come to North America and the snowy hills are calling all sleds and toboggans. Down South in the US, however, where snow is seldom seen, today's word, pronounced [tow-bah-gin], usually refers to a plain knit cap with no bill or earflaps such as the one in the picture. In its standard sense, today's Good Word may also be used as a verb signifying the use of a toboggan, as to toboggan down a snowy hill. So the derivational family of this word is very simple: tobogganers toboggan on toboggans.

In Play: In the United States, be careful saying things like, "Hey, pull a toboggan on your head and let's toboggan," even if you stress both words correctly. Northerners will imagine placing a sled on your head while Southerners will think of sledding in a knit cap. "Mommie, I don't want to sled on the toboggan—Buffy holds on to me too tight and pulls me with her when she falls off!"

Word History: Today's Good Word was borrowed from French but, this time, Canadian French, where it was originally spelled tabagane. The French Canadians picked up their word from an Algonquian language, probably Nova Scotian Micmac tapaqan. Related words in other Algonquian languages spoken in Canada include Abnaki udãbãgan, Montaignais utapan, Cree otãbãnãsk, and Ojibwe odaban-ak.

Re: TOBOGGAN

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:19 am
by MTC
Winter Fantasy of the Middle-aged Man

Tobago, not toboggan!
Sail boat, not snow sloggin'
Martinique, not icy cheek
Tropic islands, not Scotish Highlands
Balmy breezy, not cold and sneezy
...
So I made a reservation
For an island destination
Where I danced in the sand
With a mai tai in my hand
A wild native girl
Laughed "I'll give you a twirl!"
How I wished my tropic dream
Were as real as it seemed.

by MTC

Re: TOBOGGAN

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 12:51 pm
by Slava
toboggan.gif
Here's the picture mentioned in the original post.
toboggan.gif (5.7 KiB) Viewed 4682 times

Re: TOBOGGAN

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 2:16 pm
by Perry Lassiter
I'm with MTC! Here in N LA this morn it was 25 degrees! I blame it on global warming.