Part 37 (1/2)

gubbrow/ghabrao (*The Glossary): See dumbcow.

gup: 'Talk, gossip; but never in English, gup-shup, which is so much the better expression.'

halalcor/halalcore: 'In English this, like harry-maid and muttranee, was one of many t.i.tles for the mysteries of toiletry.'

harry-maid (*The Glossary): See halalcore.

hatheesoond (*Roebuck): See bhandari.

hazree/hazri (*Roebuck): Muster ('from which', adds Neel, 'we have chotee hazree, which wakes the sahib in time for the daily mustering').

hoga (*The Barney-Book): 'This word is a fine ill.u.s.tration of the changes that occur when an expression crosses from Hind. to English. The Hind. original ho-ga is usually employed to mean ”will happen” or ”will do”. In English, on the other hand, the word is almost always used in conjunction with a negative participle, to imply strong disapproval. Thus was a notoriously starchy BeeBee heard to exclaim, on finding her husband in the arms of a Rum-johnny: ”Not in my b.i.+.c.hawna dear; just won't hoga.” '

hong: 'In southern China this word was applied indifferently, in English, to a certain kind of trading establishment, a company of merchants, a set of buildings, and even to cer tain boats kept by merchants: hong-boat'.

hook.u.m: 'The Laskari word for ”command”.'

hubes!/habes! (*Roebuck): This was the Laskari equivalent of the English nautical hook.u.m, 'heave', and Neel was so struck by Roebuck's notes on this term that he copied them down verbatim: '[When issuing this command] sometimes a little abuse is necessary; as for instance ”Habes sala!” ”Bahin chod habes!” or ”Habes haramzuda”!'

hurkaru/harcara: See dufter/daftar and chit/chitty.

hurremzad/huramzuda/haramzada etc. (*The Glossary): See badmash.

istoop/istup (*Roebuck): 'I can still feel it between my fingers, that vile oak.u.m, endlessly picking, picking, picking ...' From the Portuguese estopa.

jadoo/jadu: Magic, conjuring ('where-from the common usage, jadoo-ghar for Freemason's Lodge').

jalebi/jellybee: See laddu.

jammah/jama: 'The only reason why this word may fail to achieve the same eminence as the compound, pyjama (literally ”leg-clothing”) is that it is too general, being applied to all clothing.' See also kameez.

jasoos: Neel was intrigued by the English spellings of words related to this common Hind. term for 'spy' - jasoosy (spying) and jasooses (spies).

jaw/jao (*The Barney-Book): See chull.

jawaub (*The Glossary, The Barney Book): 'This borrowing of the Hind. for ”answer” was never a persuasive migrant, its function in English being limited to a single sense, which Barrre & Leland describe thus: ”If a gentleman proposes to a lady and is refused he is said to have been juwaubed.”'

jemadar: 'In my youth, as I remember, this word designated the second-highest rank for a sepoy, following upon subedar/soubadar. But of late the usage has changed somewhat, and is often applied to bhistis, and also to some of the mysteries of toiletry.'