[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: magh

Steven Boozer sboozer at uchicago.edu
Tue Aug 2 09:04:58 PDT 2016


I wondered about the derivation.  http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/grass-up.html claims that it’s rhyming slang from “grasshopper” = copper, as “a 'grass' or 'grasser' tells the 'copper' or policeman."  The same article also mentions another term I’ve wondered about:

   Some have also theorised that the term 'shop', meaning 'give
   information that leads to an arrest', derives from the same source,
   that is, that, as 'grass' derives from 'grasshopper', then so does
   'shopper'.

I’m going to have to bookmark that site!

Voragh

From: tlhIngan-Hol [mailto:tlhingan-hol-bounces at lists.kli.org]
On Behalf Of qurgh lungqIj
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2016 10:52 AM

Originally it did only mean informing the police (so if you watch period crime shows it would probably only be used for this meaning), but it soon became informing anyone in authority including teachers, the boss, parents, romantic partner(s), etc.

On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 11:40 AM, Steven Boozer <sboozer at uchicago.edu<mailto:sboozer at uchicago.edu>> wrote:
By George, I think you’ve got it!   Like me, Okrand must be a fan of British television -- though I always assumed that to “grass” meant informing specifically to the police, not tattling on ones mates to the teacher or the boss.  (That tells you the type of shows I tend to watch.)

From: tlhIngan-Hol [mailto:tlhingan-hol-bounces at lists.kli.org<mailto:tlhingan-hol-bounces at lists.kli.org>]
On Behalf Of qurgh lungqIj
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2016 9:43 AM
In the UK there is slang "to grass on someone", which means to reveal information that someone doesn't want revealed, often to a person in authority. During my school days, another kid would often be branded as a traitor if they known to "grass" on others.
 On Tue, Aug 2, 2016 at 10:21 AM, Steven Boozer <sboozer at uchicago.edu<mailto:sboozer at uchicago.edu>> wrote:
> Klingon Word of the Day for Tuesday, August 02, 2016
>
> Klingon word: magh
> Part of speech: verb
> Definition: betray
   [….]

N.B. Do not confuse with the verb {magh} "indicate, reveal" or the new noun {magh} "Klingon plant resembling grass".


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