Got the willies

Posted by Sheila Collins on October 07, 2009 at 07:54

In Reply to: Got the willies posted by Smokey Stover on September 20, 2009 at 08:22:

: : : got the willies. In the ballet Giselle, a peasant girl seeks to protect her lover from avenging spirits called the wilis. From German for ghosts.

: : Can you give any evidence for that? I'm doubtful, because (a) Wili (or Vilja, or Vila - it's Slavonic, not German: en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Slavic_fairies#Vilia) is pronounced with a v- sound, not a w- sound, and (b) because ballet has always been such a minority interest in English-speaking countries. The Collins Dictionary of Slang notes the English dialect word "willy-wambles" for a rumbling tummy, as a possible origin. (VSD)

: I agree entirely with Victoria's opinion. The OED regards the etymology as unknown, and considers it to have originated as American slang.

: The willies, that is, a state of nervous apprehension, does not suggest, to me at least, ghosts, or fairies, or evil female spirits that lure young men to their deaths by dancing. For the last-named, see the wikipedia article on Giselle:

: en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Giselle

: If this whets your interest in Giselle, you might like to take a look at some excerpts of it, from various outstanding performances which in my grumpy opinion succeed in making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. See:

: www.youtube.com

"WILIS" ARE ALSO REFERRED TO BY OPHELIA IN HER MAD SCENE. THERE APPARENTLY THE WORD MEANS "GHOSTS OF JILTED BRIDES". COULD MAYBE HAVE MORPHED INTO "IT GAVE ME THE WILLIES" ETC.

See: the meaning and origin of the phrase "you can't make silk purse out of a sow's ear".