Carny

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A carny ("jointee") and his coconut shy in 2005 Albert Harris - Coconut shy B.jpg
A carny ("jointee") and his coconut shy in 2005

Carny, also spelled carnie, is an informal term used in North America for a traveling carnival employee, and the language they use, particularly when the employee operates a game ("joint"), food stand ("grab", "popper", or "floss wagon"), or ride ("ride jock") at a carnival. The term "showie" is used synonymously in Australia, while " showman " is used in the United Kingdom. [1]

Contents

Etymology

Carny is thought to have become popularized around 1931 in North America, when it was first colloquially used to describe one who works at a carnival. [2] The word carnival , originally meaning a "time of merrymaking before Lent" and referring to a time denoted by lawlessness (often ritualised under a lord of misrule figure and intended to show the consequences of social chaos), came into use around 1549.

Carny language

Johnnie, a carny at the 2007 Indiana State Fair. 2007 Indiana State Fair 26.jpg
Johnnie, a carny at the 2007 Indiana State Fair.

The carny vocabulary is traditionally part of carnival cant, a secret language. It is an ever-changing form of communication, in large part designed to be impossible to understand by an outsider. [3] As words are assimilated into the culture at large, they lose their function and are replaced by more obscure or insular terms.[ citation needed ] Most carnies no longer use cant, but some owners/operators and "old-timers" ("half yarders") still use some of the classic terms.

In addition to carny jargon, some carnival workers used a special infix ("earz" or "eez" or "iz") to render regular language unintelligible to outsiders. This style eventually migrated into wrestling, hip hop, and other parts of modern culture. [4]

The British form of fairground cant is called "polari".

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References

  1. "Definition of showie in English". Oxford Living Dictionary. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  2. "Definition of carny". Merriam-Webster Online. Archived from the original on November 5, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
  3. Carny Archived February 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine .
  4. The Secret History of Carnival Talk Archived May 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine .
  5. Archived July 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Archived March 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. US. "CARNY | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  8. US. "Butthole Surfers | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.

Further reading