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Floozy

Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 10:56 pm
by Dr. Goodword

• floozy •

Pronunciation: flu-zee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A woman of ill-repute or a woman who dresses gaudily and in bad taste. (For more on pejorative terms for women, click here.)

Notes: Although the plural is floozies, spellcheckers frown upon spelling the singular of this word floozie. Pay no attention to other dictionaries that say this spelling is OK; use our singular and plural, and your spellchecker won't frown.

In Play: Any woman a man would think is "easy" qualifies as a floozy: "Who was that floozy I saw Phil Anders with last night?" "That was his wife." Oops! At least it wasn't his boss's wife. "Why are you looking for a wife among the floozies down at the bar when you could find the perfect one for you at an online matchmaker site?"

Word History: All dictionaries rightly declare that the origin of this word is unknown. I consider that a challenge to my speculative powers. Today's Good Word probably is a dialectal variation of flossy from floss, taken from French soie floche "floss-silk", from floche "down, velvet pile". However, when I was growing up, Flossy was a woman's name used mostly by people my mother wouldn't have wanted me to associate with. To get "all flossied up" means to overdress tastelessly, the way a loose woman might. I would find it hard to believe that floozy, often spelled floosy and floosie in the past, is not a dialectal variation of this word or just a facetious play on it. (Today we offer a nod of thanks to John Yates, who thought of this word during his quest to avoid floozies at all costs.)

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 11:36 am
by LukeJavan8
I knew a woman, friend of my grandmother, whose
name was Flossie. She fit Doc's description to a T.
I wonder if the persona comes with the name?

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 11:53 am
by Slava
I believe the modern version of "flossied up" is "gussied up."

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 11:58 am
by LukeJavan8
I've heard "decked out" as well, when referring to
over-dressed.

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 1:29 pm
by MTC
Sloozy: A man of ill-repute or a man who dresses gaudily and in bad taste.

(On the theory there should be parity in pejoratives.)

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 6:14 pm
by Philip Hudson
Flapper to vamp to floozy to, "Your mother wears Army boots." It is a matter of degree.

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 10:51 pm
by Perry Lassiter
In my head "decked out" can simply mean well dressed, not overly so.

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 11:21 pm
by Slava
In my head "decked out" can simply mean well dressed, not overly so.
I agree. Decked out to me means very well-dressed, as in "to the nines."

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 8:08 am
by Eileen Opiolka
I always thought Flossie was short for Florence, and so I supposed there must have been a floozy Florence at some time.
Does anyone know?

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 8:58 am
by Slava
Good question, and welcome to the Agora. I would say the difference is in the spelling, or at least that's how it looks on the Internet. Flossy is showy, Flossie is short for Florence. I'd stick to Flo, though, given the connotations of the homonym.

As an aside, while looking this up, I found out that in July there was a tropical storm Flossie near Hawaii. Fun name for a storm, no?

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:16 am
by LukeJavan8
In my head "decked out" can simply mean well dressed, not overly so.
I agree. Decked out to me means very well-dressed, as in "to the nines."

When you have kids with their pants around their thighs,
and halter tops and bikini bottom worn so they can paint
their bodies at football games, "decked out" would mean
shirt tucked in jeans and shoes on,no flip-flops at least in this neck
of the woods.

Re: Floozy

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 6:34 pm
by Philip Hudson
Welcome Eileen Opiolka! Post often.

Re: Floozy

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 11:19 am
by LukeJavan8
WELCOMEindeed, Eileen.

Re: Floozy

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 4:40 pm
by Philip Hudson
There was a jazz song about a Flat foot floozie. They tried to clean it up by making up the word floogie. Many Jazz greatrs have recorded this song. In that day, on the street, a "flat foot floozie with a floy, floy" was a not too nice girl with a venerila disease. Floosie is a spelling variation of floozy.

Some sample verses are:

Oh, the flat foot floogie with a floy, floy,
Flat foot floogie with a floy, floy,
Flat foot floogie with a floy, floy,
Floy doy, floy doy, floy doy.

Yeah, yeah yeah, byah, oh, baby!
Yeah, byah, byah, oh, baby!
Yeah, byah, byah, oh, baby!
Yeah, byah, byah!

Whenever your cares are chronic,
Just tell the world, "go hang,"
You'll find a greater tonic,
If you go on swingin' with the gang!

Innocent little cheerleaders for our brave high school football teams took it up as a chant during ball games.

Sometimes things get a little bit crazy.

Re: Floozy

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 4:43 pm
by Philip Hudson
Please forgive my blatant spelling errors in the previous post. My mind seems to have been wandering. But I wasn't thinking of a Floozy from my past. I promise.