SCRUMP

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7442
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

SCRUMP

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:17 pm

• scrump •

Pronunciation: skrêmp • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, transitive

Meaning: No, this word is not the past tense of scrimp (though see the Word History) nor the short form of scrumptious (that's scrummy), but a British slang term for filching apples or other fruit from someone else's orchard or garden. Words are seldom so specific in their meaning.

Notes: Today's Good Word is rarely heard outside the UK, yet remains fair game in any English-speaking region. Someone who scrumps is a scrumper, and I would feel comfortable saying that what they bring home from their scrumping is scrumpage. (Others might not.) Wrinkled apples that drop from the tree are squeezed for their juice in parts of England to produce scrumpy, a rather potent apple cider, I gather from our experienced British readers. Because of its association with wrinkles and similarity to crumple and rumple, today's word produced a verb, scrumple "crush, wrinkle".

In Play: This verb is traditionally used in reference to stolen apples, rarely even to other types of fruit: "Research to date has failed to explain why scrumped apples taste better than those bought at market." However, it is safe to expand the reference to anything grown in an orchard or garden: "My garden this year? Between the rodents, birds and scrumping children, I doubt it will return the cost of the seeds."

Word History: Today's Good Word originally referred to a shriveled apple or other fruit via the adjective scrimp "meager, scanty", but may have been used metaphorically to refer to anything with wrinkles. It is probably related to German schrumpfen "to shrink", formerly schrimpfen, suggesting a relationship with English shrimp, though no hard evidence connects them. There is also an ancient use of scram in the sense of "shriveled", as in a scram hand that might be related. So, there are a lot of potential words that might have sired today's Good Word but none are stepping forward. (We are happy that Michael Short stepped forward and suggested this word, which he was surprised to hear in England.)
• The Good Dr. Goodword

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8090
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Postby Slava » Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:57 pm

Wasn't it Merry, Pippin, and Frodo who got caught scrumping in a farmer's fields? Though that was mostly mushrooms, if I remember correctly, so perhaps it doesn't quite fit.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

LukeJavan8
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 4423
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
Location: Land of the Flat Water

Re: SCRUMP

Postby LukeJavan8 » Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:13 pm

I see slava posted here, but it is totally a blank posting on my screen.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 25 guests