Captain Herbert James Haddock was the first captain of the ill-fated Titanic – I wonder if this influenced the choice of Hergé`s name? Tintin`s derogatory friend might as well have been called Captain Mackerel or Captain Seiche. Oh, wait, it was gone! As an Irishman, I had always assumed that “Poltroon” was of Gaelic origin. It sounds Gaelic. Thank you for the disillusionment! “If you are not,” continued the Duke, the cowardliest and most animated poltroon of all his Majesty`s reigns, “follow me in this car, Prince. Poltroon is afraid of a poltergeist in a room – ghostly retention Do you know Captain Haddock, from the books of Tintin? He is very busy insulting the various reprehensibles and revocations that he and Tintin have to face in the adventures. Well, don`t go out. After all, these are children`s books! His screaming epithets for the wicked on the run include miracles like Bashi-Bazouks, Coelecanths, Troglodytes, Visigoths – look, there`s a whole list of 213 to www.tintinologist.org – and poltroons, which, if I remember correctly, serve to trigger a Himalayan avalanche. “Then you played Poltroon,” he said wildly. Sylvester`s Eve, by William Henry Farn, published in Blackwood`s Lady`s Magazine in 1843. Lily-alive poltroon became a cliché that was later mocked by P. G.

Wodehouse. What is a Poltroon originally? It puts the poultry in my head, but it`s not quite what it is. A 17th century author suggested that the word came from pollice truncus “mutilated thumb” and referred to men mutilating their thumbs to avoid military service. This has long been accepted as a source, but it probably isn`t. Poltroon comes from the Middle French poltron “cowardly”, from the Italian poltrone “worthless person, cowardly”, and goes back to the Latin pullus “young animal” – which is closely associated with young hens and poultry, but they are not the direct source of this word. But a poltroon is, so to speak, a chicken – a chicken crossed with a jackal. Also an anthropophagus, an ostrogoth, a picanthropic pickpocket and much more. But I cannot accept to pass for a fool; and even more not for a Poltroon – you will excuse the little clue. “Poltroon is an old-fashioned word for a type of person that exists in any period of time: a coward. If you behave in such a way that you do not show courage or self-confidence, you behave like a poltroon.

In movies, villains are often sneaky and sneaky Poltroons, rather than brave and direct. A hero is the opposite of a poltroon. Poltroons can be described as cowardly and pathetic, but mostly cowardly. Joe tried to catch him with the boat hook, but he was useless and the body of the unfortunate Poltroon was swirled. A Poltroon is a coward. Poltroons lack courage and strength. Not all of these words are names for bad things or bad people in our real world. But a poltroon? A Poltroon is pretty much the worst type of person you`re likely to meet. “A foolish coward” and “wicked misery,” says Merriam-Webster Unabridged; “a complete coward; an ordinary person; a worthless misery,” says the Oxford English Dictionary. A Poltroon is a soldier who shoots his compatriots when they try to make him fight the enemy. A poltroon is a middle manager who does not lift a finger to help his employees or defend them within senior management, but keeps them trapped in his office and belittles them profusely.

Captain Queeg, Herman Wouk tells us in The Caine Mutiny, is a poltroon. He insulted you, then he behaved like a poltroon in Silverbridge, and I don`t want you to know him anymore. If you`re dealing with synonyms, a Poltroon is just a chicken. Backyard chickens are poultry long known for their shyness, and the name chicken has been applied to human cowards since the 17th century. Poltroon has been used for wimps and for even longer, at least since the early 16th century. And if you remember that chickens are called poultry, you may suspect that birds and cowards are related by both etymology and synonymy. Poltroon took english from Central Français, which he in turn received from the old Italian poltrone, which means “coward.” The Italian term dates back to the Latin pullus, a root that is also an ancestor of the pullet (“a young hen”) and poultry. My mistake – and I won`t forgive myself anytime soon – has been to believe that an upstart doesn`t have to be a poltroon. But somehow, this term is not used much for a full effect nowadays. As the OED says, it is now mostly archaic or humorous. For me, the haddock effect is insurmountable, but it can`t be the case for everyone. I think echoes of goon, buffoon, baboon, loonie and words like that probably have some effect.

Echoes of Dragoon, Pantaloon and Saloon could add to the archaic feeling. And we have much more vulgar – and metaphorical – terms to replace them anyway. Oxford etymologists are now certain that both stories are false. Instead, they refer to the classic Latin pullus for the young of any animal, especially a young domestic chicken or chicken. It is also the source of young hens and is related to poultry and – more distantly – foals. The link is an ancient reference to the notoriously shy and cowardly behavior of farm poultry. An unworthy or total coward; a despicable; a wicked and miserable person. Pol-trōōn′, n. an idle and lazy guy: a coward: a vile: one without a spirit. – Adj. vil, vil, despicable.

Poltroon`ery, Laziness: Cowardice: Lack of spirit. [P. poltron – Es. poltro (for polstro), sloth – Ger. polster, a bolster.] SURVEY+ROOM.. In an election hall, every politician becomes cowardly because he is afraid of the results Poltroon was one of the most popular insults of the nineteenth century, which means a complete coward, often preceded by adjectives such as vile or miserable. Stories of the most sensational kind preferred stronger words: For me, it is, was and always will be an insult to Captain Haddock. A beautiful word, unfortunately neglected. Rugby teams over 40 often have appropriate names: Sundowners, Ebb Tides, Men o` Paws (these were Toronto Lions). And a team from Washington DC, the Poltroons. Royal blue jerseys, with a yellow stripe three inches wide on the back. Most of the time, the CIA is scared, I think.

I have good memories of the Poltroons. In the nineteenth century, this wildly inventive vision was no longer believed. Scholars have instead noted that the word in English – and also in the obviously related Italian poltrone – meant not only a coward, but also someone who wallows in laziness and idleness. This led her to believe that it comes from the Italian Poltro, a sofa, an etymology respectable enough to be cited in the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. The explanation of the scholar Salmasio “Police Truncus” seems too far-fetched. My hypothesis comes from `poltrone` (Italian adjetiv for sluggard, bedridden). From the Italian “poltro” and the old-fashioned way of saying “bed”, from the late Latin “pullitrus” a young horse or a bed frame or a torture tool. Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP Middle French poultron, from the Old Italian poltrone, probably similar to poltro colt, finally from the Latin pullus young of an animal – more to Fohlenetymologie: [F. poltron, from It. poltrone an idle, lazy, cowardly, poltro idle, lazy guy, too, bed, fr. OHG. polstar, bolstar, kissen, G.

polster, similar to E. bolster. See Bolster.] Sometimes a “Cacafuego” can be a real “Slubberdegullion” The perfect nickname for the future King of the White House Poltroon was a successful event horse ridden by the American rider Torrance Watkins.