Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
“Make way, make way, for the rowdy-dowdy boys”.’
English answer:
clear the way for the rowdy-dowdy (boisterous, fun-loving) boys
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2019-08-01 13:54:07 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
English term
“Make way, make way, for the rowdy-dowdy boys”.’
Abstract:
‘Yes: a fat little lady in black riding through the Park with an escort of Lifeguardsmen – her open barouche drawn by two splendid high-stepping grey horses, and the band playing: “Make way, make way, for the rowdy-dowdy boys”.’
Ref. links | Barbara Carrara |
Non-PRO (1): Barbara Carrara
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Responses
clear the way for the rowdy-dowdy (boisterous, fun-loving) boys
http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/songster/40-the-rowdy-dowd...
"We are the boys for fun and noise"
rowdy means boisterous
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Note added at 10 mins (2019-07-29 13:36:22 GMT)
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rowdy can also mean causing mayhem or trouble
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rowdydowdy
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Note added at 3 days 33 mins (2019-08-01 13:59:29 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to have helped!
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Note added at 3 days 35 mins (2019-08-01 14:01:59 GMT) Post-grading
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note that "dowdy" is there to rhyme with "rowdy" (but doesn't have its usual meaning of drab, dull or outmoded)
agree |
Barbara Carrara
38 mins
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Many thanks:-)
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agree |
JohnMcDove
49 mins
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Many thanks:-)
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agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: No need to translate it.
1 hr
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Many thanks:-)
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Reference comments
Ref. links
If you've searched this online, I'm sure you've noticed that the song comes up in Russian fora, such as the following,
pushkinskijdom.ru/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=d2XR7nsN49A%3D&tabid=11370
https://classic.italki.com/question/478148
https://sw-translations.ucoz.ru/forum/4-506-1
Hopefully, they can help you clear out your doubts.
From your question, it is unclear what you are looking for, given that you already know this is a music reference (there's a band playing a motive). Right?
agree |
JohnMcDove
12 mins
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Thanks
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agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
52 mins
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Thanks, Tina.
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Discussion
https://vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=63506&sos=0
"Rowdy-dowdy" was originally criminal slang. Green's Dictionary of Slang gives it as "aggressive, antagonistic" (from 1846) and "vulgar, uncultured, rough" (from 1915).
https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/qjypm4q
Eric Partridge, the guru of British slang, tells us that it originally referred to pickpockets:
"Rowdy-dowdy means a rough turning and twisting of the mark (the pickpocket's victim) by the pickpocket and/or his confederate(s)"
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MUbeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA580
So in origin it suggests something quite menacing: hooliganism and street crime. But as used in the song, it's about drinking and having a good time. It's a kind of "street chic", naughty boys pretending to be really bad boys, typical of the exuberance of the end of the century.
(Continued in next post)