 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004Dimmie
In the prison memoir "Newjack" by Ted Conover, the inmates cry "Dimmie" to mean an Uncle Tom. Anyone know where it comes from? > In the prison memoir "Newjack" by Ted Conover, the inmates > cry "Dimmie" to mean an Uncle Tom. Anyone know where it comes from? Nothing in Cassell's or RHHDAS, although both have several words for "stupid person" starting with "dim-". Also "an unpleasant person," dimmock. You're sure of the racial connection? What's the place and time?  SignatureBest - Donna Richoux > Nothing in Cassell's or RHHDAS, although both have several words for > "stupid person" starting with "dim-". Also "an unpleasant person," > dimmock. You're sure of the racial connection? > What's the place and time? Four years ago, Sing-Sing prison. An excerpt is at: http://www.violence.neu.edu/UpTheRiver.html "Our training officer commented on the fame of the building, how corrections officials from around the world came to visit it. It was hard to hear him, due to the din. Heavy gates were being slammed; shouts echoed. We moved closer. When he stopped talking, we followed him up the center stairs and walked a long gallery or two, attracting a couple of epithets-someone called out, "Clarence Thomas!" to Dimmie (meaning Uncle Tom), and we heard a few cries of "New'ack!" But it was nothing like our experience at Coxsackie: Even these hardened inmates, who so outnumbered us, were intimidated by a large detachment of officers." The town of Sing-Sing changed it's name to Ossining (Sint Sinck Indians) to distance itself from the penal institution. This is in contrast to many rural towns, who welcome the jobs. > > Nothing in Cassell's or RHHDAS, although both have several words for > > "stupid person" starting with "dim-". Also "an unpleasant person," [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > distance itself from the penal institution. This is in contrast to many rural > towns, who welcome the jobs. Hey, I get it. They didn't mean "Dimmie" meant Uncle Tom, they meant "Clarence Thomas" meant Uncle Tom. Dimmie must be a character in the story -- a black corrections officer. This Clarence Thomas: Thomas, Clarence US administrator and judge; chairman of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 1982-1990 (EEOC); Supreme Court justice 1991--; confirmed despite allegations of having sexually harassed Anita Hill; wrote decisions for Rubin v. Coors Brewing 1995 (9-0, beer brewers can list alcohol content on product labels), Wilson v. Arkansas 1995 (9-0, police must announce presence before executing a search warrant, sole exceptions being in case of expected destruction of evidence or expected danger to police) _1948-- -- Biographical Dictionary s9.com/biography SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux > Hey, I get it. They didn't mean "Dimmie" meant Uncle Tom, they meant > "Clarence Thomas" meant Uncle Tom. Dimmie must be a character in the > story -- a black corrections officer. You're right, I'm an idiot! It's the odd phrasing that threw me. >> Hey, I get it. They didn't mean "Dimmie" meant Uncle Tom, they meant >> "Clarence Thomas" meant Uncle Tom. Dimmie must be a character in the >> story -- a black corrections officer. > > You're right, I'm an idiot! It's the odd phrasing that threw me. Yeah. And I recollect from 'The Exorcist' that 'Dimmie' is an abbreviated form of 'Damian' -- John Dean Oxford De-frag to reply > >> Hey, I get it. They didn't mean "Dimmie" meant Uncle Tom, they meant > >> "Clarence Thomas" meant Uncle Tom. Dimmie must be a character in the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Yeah. And I recollect from 'The Exorcist' that 'Dimmie' is an abbreviated > form of 'Damian' Which is a black name! Small world. >>>> Hey, I get it. They didn't mean "Dimmie" meant Uncle Tom, they >>>> meant "Clarence Thomas" meant Uncle Tom. Dimmie must be a [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Which is a black name! Small world. In The Exorcist, Damian was the priest who gave his life for the little girl. -- John Dean Oxford De-frag to reply >> >> Hey, I get it. They didn't mean "Dimmie" meant Uncle Tom, they meant >> >> "Clarence Thomas" meant Uncle Tom. Dimmie must be a character in the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Which is a black name! Small world. In what sense is it "black"? I believe it was the name of an evil child in a film "The omen", I think, but it is also the name of several Christian saints asociated with healing. I suppose they might be perceived as evil by the modern comercialised health industry, since they didn't charge for their services, and were known as unmercenary doctors. Steve Hayes hayesmstw@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm > >> >> Hey, I get it. They didn't mean "Dimmie" meant Uncle Tom, they meant > >> >> "Clarence Thomas" meant Uncle Tom. Dimmie must be a character in the [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > industry, since they didn't charge for their services, and were known as > unmercenary doctors. There's also that uncomfortable book by Hermann Hesse: it gripped me, but after reading it I felt strangely as though I'd been in contact with something that needed to be washed off, but might be insoluble in soap and water. One little boy of my circle whose name was James was called "Dimmie"; he is now an adult answering only to "James". Mike. >> In what sense is it "black"? >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >One little boy of my circle whose name was James was called "Dimmie"; >he is now an adult answering only to "James". Jimmy and Dimmie are both diminutives of Dmitri, Demetrios etc. Steve Hayes hayesmstw@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.