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Bull roar

Posted by ESC on April 02, 2009 at 08:38

In Reply to: Bull roar posted by Vair on April 02, 2009 at 07:12:

: Bull roar (as used by Smokey Stover): On some level, the phrase makes sense without explanation. But it would be nice to know. Does it refer to the roaring of a bull, i.e., a beast-brained aggressive and protective bunch of loud noise; is it a substitution of one end of the animal for the other (issuance thereof); does it come in any way from bullroarer (checked wikipedia); or what?

I wasn't in on the previous discussion. But here's what I know. Bullroar or bull-roarer -- a noisemaker consisting of a slat of wood attached to a thong and whirled in the air. It is a child's toy (also called a buzzer or dumb bull), used as a ceremonial rites and as a noisemaker used at a shivaree. From "Dictionary of American Regional English," Volume 1 by Frederic G. Cassidy (1985, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., and London, England). Page 451.

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