Saucy

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Dr. Goodword
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Saucy

Postby Dr. Goodword » Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:30 pm

• saucy •


Pronunciation: saw-si • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Impudent, impertinent, flippant in a playful way, as 'a saucy child'. 2. Attractive, stylish in a suggestive way, as 'a saucy dress'. 3. Like or with sauce, as 'saucy meatballs'.

Notes: Here is a word whose metaphorical meaning has reduced its literal sense to a third definition. The adverb is the expectable saucily and the noun is sauciness. Don't forget to change the Y to I when you spell them. Its mispronunciation, sassy, has become an acceptable synonym.

In Play: Saucy implies a playfulness in impertinence: "In response to his proposal of marriage, Sheila flashed Rodney a saucy grin and said, excitedly, 'I'd love to." It can also carry a vague sexual innuendo: "Lucy Lastic always wears suggestive dresses and sports a rather saucy coiffure."

Word History: Today's Good Word is obviously a combination of sauce + -y. Sauce was borrowed by Middle English from Old French sauce, which it inherited from Latin salsa "things salted", a noun use of feminine singular of the adjective salsus "salted". Salsus is the past participle of Latin sallere "to salt", a verb based on sal "salt", handed down from PIE sal- "salt". Somewhere between Latin and French the L turned to U, as many English-speakers pronounce the L in milk and belt. Roman soldiers were paid not only with money, they also received a salarium "for salt", a word that broadened its definition to cover the basic money received, as well. It was then trimmed down to salaire in Old French (still is in Modern French), which became salarie in Norman-French, whence English salary. (Now a word of thanks to our saucy old friend and wordmaster, Lew Jury, for continuing to support us with semantically wayward Good Words like today's.)
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Philip Hudson
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Re: Saucy

Postby Philip Hudson » Fri Jul 23, 2021 6:25 pm

Here in the hinterlands it is sassy. A warning to an impertinent child might be, "Don't give me none a yore sass."
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

David Myer
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Re: Saucy

Postby David Myer » Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:43 am

Presumably, Philip, just a corruption of pronunciation - saucy, sassy?

Philip Hudson
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Re: Saucy

Postby Philip Hudson » Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:49 pm

Of course sassy is a variation of saucy. But here in the hinterlands sassy packs a terrific punch. If a child is called down for being sassy she/he could be in big trouble.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

David Myer
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Re: Saucy

Postby David Myer » Sun Jul 25, 2021 7:28 pm

A bit stronger than just cheeky then? Very much at the impertinent end of the Good Doctor's Meaning.

bbeeton
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Re: Saucy

Postby bbeeton » Sun Jul 25, 2021 8:07 pm

It's also used as a verb in much the same situation: "Don't you sass me back!"

Yes, that child *will* be in a lot of trouble if s/he doesn't listen up!

Philip Hudson
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Re: Saucy

Postby Philip Hudson » Sun Jul 25, 2021 9:56 pm

Sassy has it all over the original saucy.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.


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