TECH: Subject-chomping (WAS: Pronouns & sexual^H^H^

Huh.   I remember the Houyhnhnms, but totally forgot about the Yahoos.
  Shameful.  Even if it has been 25 years since I read Gulliver... :\

On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 10:27 PM, Paul Kershaw <ptkershaw@...> wrote:
> ----- Original Message ----
>
>> From: Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>
>> To: CONLANG@listserv.brown.edu
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 9:51:50 PM
>> Subject: Re: TECH: Subject-chomping (WAS: Pronouns & sexual^H^H^H
>>
>> Poo-slinging subhumans?? Huh?
>>
>> I know "yahoo" as (1) an exclamation of extreme delight, and (2) slang
>> for an unintelligent/unsophisticated person. If the latter comes from
>> some term for a nonhuman primate, I'm wholly unfamiliar with that
>> use...
>
> Please see: Gulliver's Travels, Book 4, by Jonathan Swift. :) Gulliver travels to
> the land of the Houyhnhnms, where horses (the Houyhnhnms) are civilized and
> humans (the Yahoos) behave much like any other primate.
>
> Although I reckon Yahoo! really took its name from your (1).
>
> -- Paul
>


--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>