Hi Michael, you wrote :
>
>Blimey, or, as you will hear in England, "Gor Blimey", is a contraction
>of the mild, and in some books blasphemous, oath, "God blind me". The
>contraction probably occured in the 18th century, I believe. Aren't
>words interesting?
That may be, but I heard another explanation, again relating to the
British Navy.. Blimey is a contraction of Belay Me, relating to the
belaying pin used to fasten ropes and rigging. In cases of up close
and personal emergencies, such as wartime (or other) fights, one of those
pins could be pulled from its holder and used as a club. I suspect
there's a connection between "Belay Me" and Popeye's well-known "Blow
me down !", that is, they mean about the same thing, either literally
or figuratively. "Blown away" is probably a modern analog.
The above came from an unimpeachable source - an old sailor (USN).
Best regards,
Tom "not an English Major, not even a Kentucky Colonel" Tweed
SW Ohio
'72 TRident 750 basket case (the bike, that is)
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