"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Totties

   
I know the word tottie as a slang expression for a good looking teenage girl,
especially one that is a tease or dressed to look older than she is.

However, when I came across 'totties' in a Thomas Hardy book it was used to mean 'feet' according to the book note on the expression 'me totties be cold'. Perhaps it was a dialect term for feet in the South but the note brought from the deep recesses of my mind a vague remembrance that totties referred to toes here in the North. Any comments on this use of the term would be welcome.
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4 comments:

  1. Douglas20 November 2011 at 14:15

    First, let me thank you for this blog. Words are fascinating things and I, like many, often get them wrong.

    Second, here's the definition of "tottie" by the Free Online Dictionary:

    tottie, totty [ˈtɒtɪ]
    adj
    Chiefly Scot very small; tiny

    I also found that there is a small hamlet in England named "Totties"
    Wikipedia found that for me.

    I thought "Totty" was my sister's nickname for years until I realized it was "Toddy" (a mangling of "Dotty")

    And I also recall toes as being "totties" and/or "tootsies"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Scriptor Senex20 November 2011 at 15:02

    Thanks, Douglas.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ME28 December 2011 at 10:09

    Nah! I have never heard or used this term before.But I like it anyway! Totties:)
    Check this out if you want -
    Right Use of Words
    Getting jumbled with words that look similar?
    http://www.3smartcubes.com/pages/tests/right_words/right_words_instructions.asp

    ReplyDelete
  4. GB10 March 2012 at 19:11

    The Scots pronunciation is different to the English in my experience. "She's a wee tottie thing" would be pronounced "Toetee". Oddly I've usually heard it preceded by wee which would probably be tautological or pleonastic.

    ReplyDelete

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