![]() Merriam-Webster Dictionary online suggests a slightly different origin:Įarlier slang, girlfriend, probably short for jam tart, rhyming slang for sweetheart. ![]() Revised & enlarged (undated edition – 1953?) contains the following:Īs applied to a harlot or girl of loose sexual morals this word dates back to Victorian times and in all probability is a contraction of “sweetheart.” Primarily a girl, chaste or not now (unless loosely used) a wanton, mistress, ‘good-one’.Īnd among the numerous synonyms of tart, these authors included “ buttered-bun ”, “ jam ” and “ jamtart ”.īrewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. In Slang and its Analogues Past and Present (1904), John S. Jam (Eingemachtes ) scherzhaft : süßes, liebes Geschöpf she’s real jam : es ist ein süßes Mädel, der reine honig. Tart (Torte ) scherzhaft : a jam tart : ein zuckersüßes Mädchen my tart : mein Schätzchen the tarts : die Mädels. a woman who intentionally wears the type of clothes and make-up that attract sexual attention in a way that is too obvious. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that in his English-German glossary Londinismen: Slang und Cant (1887), Heinrich Baumann wrote the following (the translation of the German text is in square brackets ): tart noun (WOMAN) C mainly UK very informal disapproving. This semantic extension would have been quite similar to that of terms such as honey and sugar in English, and chou (round cream bun) in French. The word therefore was originally a term of endearment, and what most probably happened was an ordinary semantic extension of tart, from the literal sense of a small open pastry case containing a sweet filling to the figurative sense of a sweet woman. The expression is not generally employed by the young men, unless the female is in ‘her best,’ with a coloured gown, red or blue shawl, and plenty of ribbons in her bonnet-in fact, made pretty all over, like the jam tarts in the swell bakers’ shops. John Camden Hotten defined this word in Dictionary of modern slang, cant, and vulgar words (1864 edition):Ī term of approval applied by the London lower orders to a young woman for whom some affection is felt. 3 adj A tart remark or way of speaking is sharp. (sharp) The blackberries were a bit too tart on their own, so we stewed them gently with some apples. 2 adj If something such as fruit is tart, it has a sharp taste. ![]() Despite the overwhelming familiarity with the green apple, it is not the only tart apple available to eat or use for cooking. 1 n-var A tart is a shallow pastry case with a filling of food, especially sweet food.jam tarts. A woman who dresses or behaves in a way that is considered tasteless and sexually provocative Tart, red Jonathan apples are often used to make apple pie and other fruit desserts. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |