tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post3781114548062037053..comments2024-03-14T10:31:26.918+00:00Comments on DCblog: On tickling ivoriesDChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-63409268300198906282016-01-05T10:39:17.661+00:002016-01-05T10:39:17.661+00:00Thanks. I'm used to "tinkle the ivories&q...Thanks. I'm used to "tinkle the ivories" but not "Tickle". I looked "tinkle" up to see when it was first used.<br /><br />Interesting that "tinkle" means having a pee in the USA, same as it has always done in the UK! But obviously, the context is totally different when used to describe piano playing.<br /><br />Was it Churchill who made the comment about nations being divided by a common language ....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07682921720373565678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-65880064847594465652012-09-20T18:17:32.097+00:002012-09-20T18:17:32.097+00:00I'd tickle the ivories but have a tinkle on th...I'd tickle the ivories but have a tinkle on the joanna. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-67315705468322867382012-09-20T07:35:55.655+00:002012-09-20T07:35:55.655+00:00Thanks for the n-gram. Very interesting.Thanks for the n-gram. Very interesting.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-82781727295382858882012-09-20T01:53:02.633+00:002012-09-20T01:53:02.633+00:00Here's a Google N-Gram Comparison of the phras...Here's a Google N-Gram Comparison of the phrases: "tickle" seems much more common in the written form.<br />http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=tickle+the+ivories%2Ctinkle+the+ivories&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3Thom McAlisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12698390165738406702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-75111524408351075732012-09-19T19:40:34.062+00:002012-09-19T19:40:34.062+00:00David:
I just bought your latest, so I'm a mem...David:<br />I just bought your latest, so I'm a member of the club. Noah Webster preferred 'gray,' but I've a;ways spelled it 'grey,' largely out of personal preference.<br /><br />Regarding 'tickling,' versus 'tinkling.'; It's always been 'tickling the ivories,' - at least in the northeastern US. The latter construct brings up an image of a piano player performing an unsociable act.Marc Leavitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400805396776788101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-10855683629291120312012-09-18T19:10:58.619+00:002012-09-18T19:10:58.619+00:00I've heard both, usually tickle, and tickle is...I've heard both, usually <i>tickle</i>, and <i>tickle</i> is what I would incline towards if I ever had reason to use the phrase. (As a pianist, I never did.) <br /><br />Like Anonymous before me, I associate <i>tinkle</i> with urination. Not from usage, but because the bathroom I used throughout childhood had a light-hearted picture with the line: "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be sweet and wipe the seat."Stanhttp://stancarey.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-6080858546059295142012-09-17T17:37:39.201+00:002012-09-17T17:37:39.201+00:00In the U.S. too, tinkle means 'pee', and i...In the U.S. too, <i>tinkle</i> means 'pee', and it's childish, unlike <i>pee</i>, which used to be childish but has now gone upmarket, especially among women who avoid <i>piss</i>. So I'd expect <i>tinkle the ivories</i> to be essentially unknown in the U.S. (I myself have never heard it).John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-42103029697586188932012-09-17T13:52:48.899+00:002012-09-17T13:52:48.899+00:00David:
I have never heard anyone talk about tinkli...David:<br />I have never heard anyone talk about tinkling the ivories. The phrase I have always heard is "tickling" the ivories.<br />Whatever searches may discover, I suspect this is an eggcorn. The "tinkling" version calls up an unpleasant image of someone performing an obscene and socially-unacceptable method of elimination.Marc Leavitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400805396776788101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-15676283259916521692012-09-17T12:19:13.350+00:002012-09-17T12:19:13.350+00:00In Australia you could expect to hear "tickli...In Australia you could expect to hear "tickling the ivories". I wonder if that's because "tinkling" is most strongly associated with the slang for using the toilet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com