#Words
11 messages in this thread
>occasions to hock (sp?) computers.
Pardon me for the non sequitur, but you reminded me of a theatrical bio I
read in a program where the woman said that she did her first commercial
"hocking dogfood"! Both of you mean "hawk" [from `hawker' one who sells,
and coming from hawker falconer, peddlar of hawks.] To "hock", when used
as a transitive verb, means to throw up. But then again, the image of
Commodore marketeers hocking computers seems to be a fitting, if twisted,
form of penance…
Sean Hannon
Ad Rats – Stamford, CT
>occasions to hock (sp?) computers.
>Pardon me for the non sequitur, but you reminded me of a theatrical bio I
>read in a program where the woman said that she did her first commercial
>"hocking dogfood"! Both of you mean "hawk" [from `hawker' one who sells,
>and coming from hawker falconer, peddlar of hawks.] To "hock", when used
>as a transitive verb, means to throw up. But then again, the image of
>Commodore marketeers hocking computers seems to be a fitting, if twisted,
>form of penance…
Sorry, but the word hawk in the sense of selling has nothing to do with
falconry, but comes from the noun hawker, which in turn has its origins in
Middle German hoker, meaning a costermonger. It survives today in the verb
verhoecken. To hawk also means to make an effort to clear the throat of
phlegm; to clear the throat noisily. To hock means to pawn; to pledge
something at a pawnbroker. I can find no reference to it meaning to throw
up. Perhaps it is a corruption of hawk, meaning to clear the throat?
Ain't words fun? <g>
Pete
PMFJI but I couldn't resist the temptation to add to this etymological
ensemble by adding another common usage of "hock", as a transitive verb,
which has been popular in the New York idiom, as meaning "to browbeat or
nag".
Hank
Comes from a Yiddish expression which I really can'ttransliterate but it
sounds something like. "Hoc mier in chi nic". I have never heard it as
just "hock", it's usually "don't hoc mier in chi nic", literaly "don't
break my dishes" meaning "don't bug me", "don't give me a hard time" et
cetera. My Yiddish is non exsistant & my spelling in any language worse.
Gracia, on AutoPilot from Cooleemee, NC
Gracia;
Thanks for enlightening me. I have heard it just as you suggested, as
"don't hock me".
Hank
Ah, we pay dearly for lack of due diligence… I, too, observed the
reference to the German "hoker", but omitted it for lack of an umlaut. My
1936 edition of Websters alluded to the English influence of "hawker
falconer" and — Hey! I know this is Hot News & Rumors, but while there's
no news from the Bahamas yet, why not??? — anyway, as I was saying, your
erudition exceeds my own, and I like your "hock = corruption of hawk/
clearing the throat" theory. Although, from a strictly onomatopoetical
standpoint, "hock" seems a bit too terse, while "hawk" has more gutteral
possibilities for the expression of violent stomachic ejection.
As the Church Lady might say, "My, aren't we being PEEEEE-DANTIC today?"
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Sean Hannon
Ad Rats – Stamford, CT
Sean,
You are obviously someone who, like me, has a love of our English
language. I also look in on the Court Reporters Forum, not because that is
my profession, but because they have a section on language and its use. It
is also refreshing to talk to people who use computers only as tools, and
don't give a tinker's damn whether the Amiga is better than a PC. <g>
Nice to talk to you. I am sure that we shall do so again.
Pete Jones, flying on AutoPilot from Brussels, Belgium
I thought that one can be "in hock" which means they're in debt. I thought
that "to hock" something (as in Dale's reference) meant to sell stuff in order
to get out of debt.
hock = pawn
Comes from the Dutch hok, debt prison.
=Edjs-
Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca
Hock can also be used as a transitive verb meaning to put in hock, or
pawn.. "She had hocked the ring and now it was all on Black as the dust
swirled about the sleepy Reno casino."
Actually to `hock' computers means to turn the computers into a dry white
wine which one then drinks to drown one's sorrows. It's usually regarded
as a sign that the computers in question are undergoing a period of
uncertain future prospects.
Some authorities have commented that, in fact, it may be a way of playing
a form of Russian Roulette since the computers may contain lead compounds
and detritus from old OS's. My own theory is that the resulting `hock' is
purely an aid to gaining the correct perspective on the niche computers
should occupy in the societal web.
regards, Lu on AutoPilot downunder