Information AboutSobriquet |
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Two early variants are found, ''sotbriquet'' and ''soubriquet''; the latter form is still often used, though it is not the correct modern French spelling. The first form suggests a derivation from ''sot'', foolish, and ''briquet'', a French adaptation of Ital. ''brichetto'', diminutive of ''bricco'', ass, knave, possibly connected with ''briccone'', rogue, which is supposed to be a derivative of Ger. ''brechen'', to break; but Skeat considers this spelling to be due to Popular Etymology , and the real origin is to be sought in the form soubriquet. Littré gives an early 14th Century ''soubsbriquet'' as meaning a chuck under the chin, and this would be derived from ''soubs'', mod. ''sous'' ( Lat. ''sub''), under, and ''briquet'' or ''bruchel'', the brisket, or lower part of the throat. Sobriquets are often found in politics. Candidates and political figures are often branded with sobriquets, either contemporarily or historically. For example, American President Abraham Lincoln came to be known as Honest Abe . Sobriquets are not always used to highlight virtuous qualities, either. A Banking Tycoon and politician from Knoxville, Tennessee named Jake Butcher was known as "Jake the Snake" after being Indicted and subsequently convicted for bank fraud. '' Fowler's Modern English Usage '' (1926) warned, "Now the sobriquet habit is not a thing to be acquired, but a thing to be avoided; & the selection that follows is compiled for the purpose not of assisting but of discouraging it." Fowler included the sobriquet among what he termed the "battered ornaments" of the language. WELL-KNOWN EXAMPLES OF SOBRIQUETS A-C
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H-M
N-S
T-Z
SEE ALSO
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