I think I'll add a list in English. I couldn't find it at a cursory glance at the Web.
Posted by MM at August 31, 2003 06:02 PMOff topic, but I just found a great German word: "soundso".
Posted by zizka at August 31, 2003 06:09 PMA mystery solved.
Posted by beth at September 1, 2003 10:58 AMThanks for the pointer, like many others I've been wondering about this for years.
If, however, bookcase ranges are named after occupations, what does a BILLY do for a living?
Posted by Jonathon Delacour at September 3, 2003 04:30 PMWell, according to my Cassell Dictionary of Slang, a billy is a policeman. So there you go.
Posted by language hat at September 3, 2003 05:08 PMThere you go, indeed. I knew of Bobby, but not Billy...
Posted by Jonathon Delacour at September 3, 2003 09:05 PMAhh....so *that's* why the stick carried by police is called a "Billy Club". I've always wondered about that.
Frank.
Posted by Frank at November 19, 2003 01:03 PMbut Billy's not an occupation... not even here in Sweden
Posted by emma at February 9, 2006 02:59 PM