A flippertygibbet is a person who manifests restless, nervous behaviour and can mean a person on whom one should not rely - a capricious, fickle person. An unruly over excitable child or even an "airbrain" or "flipflopper", to use modern US parlance.
A Flippertigibbet is usually applied to a child or to (especially) a girl and means a restless, agitated, twitchy person: its origin is grim: it relates perhaps to the twitching of a person being hanged or derives from someone who escapes the just punishment of being hanged as in " to fly by (avoid) the gibbet". It is an English, not an American word, though it is understood on the East Coast of the US.
Copley's 'Shift of Meaning' gives details. It is a delightfully expressive word when used in a string of creative swearing, such as you will find in the comedies of Ben Jonson. It should be resurrected, dusted off and brought back into contemporary use.
Comments by charlesfear
charlesfear commented on the word flippertigibbet
A flippertygibbet is a person who manifests restless, nervous behaviour and can mean a person on whom one should not rely - a capricious, fickle person. An unruly over excitable child or even an "airbrain" or "flipflopper", to use modern US parlance.
May 15, 2010
charlesfear commented on the word flippertigibbet
A Flippertigibbet is usually applied to a child or to (especially) a girl and means a restless, agitated, twitchy person: its origin is grim: it relates perhaps to the twitching of a person being hanged or derives from someone who escapes the just punishment of being hanged as in " to fly by (avoid) the gibbet". It is an English, not an American word, though it is understood on the East Coast of the US.
May 15, 2010
charlesfear commented on the list oxsters
Copley's 'Shift of Meaning' gives details. It is a delightfully expressive word when used in a string of creative swearing, such as you will find in the comedies of Ben Jonson. It should be resurrected, dusted off and brought back into contemporary use.
May 15, 2010