Subject: Oh, buoy! A Dialect!

From: Pierre Abbat <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 11:31:58 -0400

JJ and Hutch frowned on the defs that came from dialects, but the word did
indeed come from Manx dialect. For the record, we have had words from dialects
before, such as quat (Obs. exc. dial.) and costean (Cornish).

mollag, n. 1. A bifurcated token held by two parties as a tangible symbol of a
mutual pact. 2. Any charm or talisman split into two parts.
by Aussie. 9
1 for her suspicions
Judith: Give it two.
Conrad: Very good. Just obscure enough that one says "I always wondered what
the word was for that. Saw it in a movie before." 2
Hutch: Some how "mollag" doesn't sound like anything having to do with "two."
David: 2 points
Pierre: I saw a checkout clerk at the store wearing one of those.
Elliott: I like it!  Not worded economically enough to be copied out of a dictionary,
but definitely a concept in need of a name.  2 points.
JJ: It would be great if there were a word for these things.  But I think I
might have heard of it if there were.

mollag, n. A pretend wife.
by Ranjit. 5
1 for crossing the river
Aussie: Exquisite! TWO points.
Eric: Two points.  So much loveliness, in so few words.
JJ: I'd probably choose this if it weren't so evocative of "gun moll".

mollag, adj. Soft, pliable.
by Judith. 4
Hutch: 2 points
JJ: Two points.

mollag, n. The skin of an animal, blown up as a bladder, and used as a float.
See Xenophon's ANABASIS, 3:5, on crossing a river.
by Manxman. 4
Aussie: Wowie! I don't trust you - you *might* submit such a word.  ONE point.
Hutch: I think that part of the Anabasis comes later than 3:5.
Kir: 1 pt.
Eric: One point.  Implausible, but interesting.
Elliott: The river full of large and gentle fish, right.  But who ever heard of a
Greek word ending in g?
Ranjit: 1 pt
JJ: Probably Elliott or Ranjit.

mollag, n. A male sheep between 6 months and 1 year of age.
by Eric. 4
1 for floating
Conrad: Agriculture. Who understands it? All those odd words. 1
David: 1 point.
JJ: One point.

mollag, n. (Welsh dial.) A toad.
by MyS. 3
Hutch: No dialects
Kir: My favorit def - 2pts

mollag, n. The black, dried honey fonud in the remains of an abandoned beehive.
by MJD. 2
Hutch: Seems too much like mine: something-"slag".
Ranjit: 2 pts
JJ: I was under the impression that honey remained in fine condition for an
essentially indefinite length of time (or at least for thousands of
years).

Mollag, n. The sourdough base or starter for Swedish crispbread.
by Conrad Heiney. 2
Judith: Give it one.
Hutch: 1 point
JJ: Man, that would be a pretty lame sourdough starter.  That stuff is like
cardboard, and the sourdough critters would have to hang their heads in
shame for producing such little leavening effect.  (Okay, so they don't
have heads...)

mollag, n. (Trinidadian dialect) 1. The foreman of a sugar plantation. 2. A
powerful or influential man. 3. The highest-scoring member of a cricket team.
by David. 1
Hutch: No dialects
Elliott: This I can almost believe.  The only word "mollag" reminds me of is
"scallag" (scallywag, dirt-poor Scottish farmer), so it sounds like some
kind of person -- maybe "mor-lag" = "big man".  If only the author had
said "Scottish dialect" they'd have had my 2-point vote.  As it is, they
only get 1 point.
JJ: I don't know if anyone has yet chosen a word from a dialect, and it comes
periloulsy close to being a word that's not English at all, which
wouldn't be cricket (so to speak).  And I'm not sure you'd start now.

Kir 1

mollag, n. 1. (U.S.) A plain fact which, by polite convention, is treated as
false. 2. (Brit.) A plain falsehood which, by polite convention, is treated as
true. 3. (Aus.) Paper money which has been ruined by exposure to salt water.
by Elliott. 0
Aussie: Unlikelihood heaped upon unlikelihood!  Could we add: "4. (Can.) A
little tin bell that tinkles when the veracity of a statement is
subverted by polite convention."?  Lewis Carroll award, no points.
Hutch: This one is just plain WIERD!!!
Eric: I understand the Australian "paper money" is in fact made of plastic, and
so would not be ruined by exposure to salt water....
Elliott: Again, the wording isn't economical enough (should be "Paper money ruined
by salt water").
JJ: Salt water, huh?  Pretty specific.  The whole thing is very amusing, and
redolent of David.

mollag, n. A finish appearance of metal characterized by a moderate lustre and
coarse incuse stippling.
by Jean-Joseph. 0
Hutch: Also too similar to mine: having to do with molybdenum.
Elliott: Very clever, spelling it "lustre", but no.

mollag, adj. 1. Hard to deal with, obtain, or get rid of. n. 2.(mining sl.)
Molybdenum slag, fr. "Molly's slag" fr. "Molly-be-damned" fr. the difficulty of
mining and working molybdenum.
by Hutch. 0
Hutch: Mine ... and a crummily written fictionition it is, too.
Elliott: Love it!  Classic Randall.
JJ: Nah.  Could be Hutch, though.

General comments:
Aussie: What an excellent lot of definitions!  This is a good word, because I
believe a number of these could be true.
Elliott: Wow!  We haven't had so many good defs in a long time.
Ranjit: So many wonderful definitions!  I wish I could vote for them all!

Elliott noticed the following contradictory idioms in the OED:

 _as empty as a mollag_, quite empty; _as full as a mollag_, quite drunk.

The mollag, according to the OED, is Manx and made of dogskin, but I could not
help being reminded of the following passage:

Anabasis 3:5.
They left for their tents, some went to get supplies, and generals and captains
conferred. They were quite stumped. On one side the mountains were super-high;
on the other side the river was so deep that they couldn't measure the depth with
their spears.

As they were puzzled, a Rhodian came forward, saying, "Men, I would like you to
cross in groups of four thousand soldiers. But first serve me with what I want,
and supply me with a talent as a reward."

Asked what he needed, he answered, "I'll need two thousand mollags. Now I see
lots of sheep and goats and cows and donkeys. Skin them and blow them up, and they'll
make it easy to cross. I'll also need the ropes which you use around the juments;
join the mollags together with them, use a stone to anchor each one, let them into the water
as anchors. When you carry them across, tie them on both sides, and load them with
wood and earth. For you will not sink, as you shall soon find out; each mollag will keep
two men from sinking, and the wood and earth will keep you from slipping."

The generals who listened to this found the idea pleasing, but the work impossible.
For there were many forbidding riders around, who would quickly be the first to stop
anyone from doing so.

The Greek word here translated "mollag" is "askos", which in the NT means "bota"
or in Manx "mollag feeyney".

phma

---

From: Elliott A Moreton <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2000 18:49:23 -0400 (EDT)

> essentially indefinite length of time (or at least for thousands of

What's the story here?  Has someone dug up ancient Egyptian honey still 
edible?
 
> so would not be ruined by exposure to salt water....

Precisely!  The Australians are the first English-speaking country to 
recognize mollag as a problem serious enough to merit both a name and a 
solution.

-- em, playing to lose until he defends his dissertation