Dear Steve Clarke
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotatations refers to Kipling's poem 'Fuzzy
Wuzzy', but this is the only reference to the expression. I'll see if any of
my colleagues can come up with anything and get back to you.
All good wishes, John Radcliffe, Electronic Editor, the Kipling Society
PS by the way, where in the Wimsey canon does the expression occur ?
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Clarke <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2000 12:44 AM
Subject: Fuzzy Wuzzy
Dear Sir,
A group of colleagues and I are working to update my annotations for
Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey short stories and novels. Along
the way we have encountered what appears to be a reference to Kipling's
"Fuzzy Wuzzy," the first stanza, when Lord Peter talks about "playing
cat and banjo" as the "Fuzzy Wuzzies" did with the British troops in the
Soudan. From the context in both the novel and the poem, it is obvious
that the image is one of being played with by a cat as it would torment
a prey. However, we have been unable to find any source for the
expression beyond Kipling's poem, and it appears that the image probably
antedates Kipling's use of it. We have even exhausted the venerable
_Oxford English Dictionary_ with no luck. Do you or your colleages have
any information that might help us track down the origin of this
expression? For thanks all we can offer is our gratitude and a place in
the completed work's bibliography. We appreciate your time and
consideration.
Sincerely,
Steve Clarke
--
Dr. Samuel Johnson's definition of a lexicographer: harmless drudge.
Steve Clarke, contemporary harmless drudge
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