Humdinger

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Dr. Goodword
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Humdinger

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Sep 03, 2021 7:11 pm

• humdinger •


Pronunciation: hêm-ding-gêr • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: (Colloquial) Something truly excellent, one of the very best or biggest of its kind.

Notes: Here is another common and popular word that you probably wouldn't want to use on your college application but is OK in almost all other circumstances. It is a lexical orphan, with no clearly related family since it is not derived from some verb humding. No, it is unrelated to that humdinger of a vehicle, the Humvee, also called a Hummer. Humvee comes from the abbreviation HMMWV of that so, so romantic name "High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle".

In Play: Anything that is an outstanding representative of its kind is, colloquially speaking, a humdinger: "Matt Tremoni is about to marry a humdinger of a woman with a six-figure income and a father who owns a liquor store." Well, this turns out to be a humdinger of a lie: Matt is engaged to the town librarian whose dad is in rehab.

Word History: Today a ding is the sound of metal striking metal or the dent left by metal striking metal. However, this word began its life meaning "to hit, strike", or even "smash". A dinger, then, would mean someone or something striking, even smashing—a hit, so to speak. Where the hum comes from remains a mystery. English does have an interjection that was once used for emphasis or to indicate deep thought. It is often spelled hmmm, but the Oxford English Dictionary lists it as hum. Might it have been added as a verbal exclamation point? (Today we thank Colin Burt for suggesting such a humdinger of a Good Word as today's.)
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Slava
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Re: Humdinger

Postby Slava » Fri Sep 03, 2021 8:13 pm

And let us not forget that our own αλφα αγορα is a humdinger of a word site! :D
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Gene Engene
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Re: Humdinger

Postby Gene Engene » Sun Sep 05, 2021 12:43 pm

In the sport of baseball, a 'home run' that travels deep into the stands, or even goes out of the field entirely, is sometimes referred to as a 'dinger'. The term is also applied to such a hitter, as well, who is regularly capable of such hits. Such a one was Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants, when they were still playing in the now demolished Candlestick Park, where he could, and often did, drive a ball completely out of the Park, and into what became known as 'McCovey's Cove', a small arm of SF Bay, where fans would sit in small boats, hoping to catch, or retrieve, one of McCovey's dingers.

David Myer
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Re: Humdinger

Postby David Myer » Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:36 am

Nice story, Gene.

I must say I always assumed that the word was created in the first world war when the poor devils in the trenches could hear a particular kind of missile on its way toward them. If they could hear it humming, it indicated that it would land close, and so evasive action was required. A humdinger was something to be avoided. But perhaps that is just fond imaginings.

Gene Engene
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Re: Humdinger

Postby Gene Engene » Sat Sep 18, 2021 12:28 pm

I think your WWI reference has more than a little credibility. It's due to the projectile being forced through the air at high velocity, which disturbs the air considerably, producing a variety of sounds, from a sort of rumble, to a shriek, depending on the velocity, and the size of the projectile. While in the US Marine Corps, we were taken out to a desert firing range, and set on the downslope of a hill, over which were fired, first, 105mm shells, then 155mm shells, all of which struck a zone a good mile in front of us. We could tell there was definitely a difference in the sound as they passed well overhead. I have never quite forgotten those sounds, which, small though the projectiles were, compared to some now, had a definite howl to them. Nor the artillery Sergeant's remark, afterward, "Don't worry about it. You'll never hear the one that gets you."


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