What is the origin and definition of the word(s) gollywhopper? My Great-Grandmother used to play a game, "I get your nose, I get your ear, I get your gollywhopper!" and grab under the child's chin.
by 
Intrinsic
ANSWERS: 3
-
I don't have an answer, sorry. But I have to say I love the word! Never heard it before, but it's a fun word, and when your question made me think of the games I used to play with my grandparents. I look forward to an answer!
-
A Gollywhopper is a rare sort of eating bird, like a gigantic chicken, found only on a tiny island in the West Indies called TheresOneBornEveryMinute. http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/me4.html According to The Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore ( Axelrod and Osler, 2000, New York: Penguin Press, page 523), the Yankee Peddler (trader, trickster) has a reputation, since the 18th century, for sharp dealings. They indulged in "skunking" (deceiving someone) and playing practical jokes, often to the end of giving a deserving victim a comeuppance! Often the stories feature backwoodsmen being conned by the Yankee Peddler into buying something they didn't want, like a clock with no works inside or the fabled Gollywhopper's Eggs. http://americanfolklore.blogspot.com/2005_05_22_archive.html http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1989/5/89.05.07.x.html
-
"A Gollywhopper is a rare sort of eating bird, like a gigantic chicken, found only on a tiny island in the West Indies called TheresOneBornEveryMinute," she explained. "Fortunately, Peddler Johnson saved the life of the chief of the island and was awarded with one full setting of eggs from this priceless bird. Everyone in town is buying eggs as fast as Johnson can sell them. I came to see if you wanted me to buy some for you. Of course, Peddler Johnson could not guarantee that my eggs will hatch out to be a breeding pair of Gollywhoppers, but I am hopeful." Source and further information: "Gollywhopper's Eggs" http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/me4.html Further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gollywhopper_Games
iwnit RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC