Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 May 19

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May 19

critter words with a certain stress pattern

Hi language lovers, I'm hoping you can help me brainstorm a list of animals/birds/insects/fish whose names meet the following criteria:

• three syllables
• stress on the middle syllable

So far I have mosquito, hyena and flamingo but would appreciate as many other suggestions as possible. Thanks, 184.147.137.171 (talk) 12:28, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Gorilla; Bonobo. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 12:32, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Opossum, coati, impala, beluga, gourami. Deor (talk) 12:54, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Koala. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 13:21, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

A nubile, but flighty, impala

Wants to marry a handsome koala.

Since gum trees are lacking

In Kenya, she's packing

To seek one in far-off Bodalla. —Deor (talk) 22:10, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Far worse fared a grizzly gorilla

Who married a cuddly chinchilla,

For now he requests

Paternity tests

When out came a fluffy godzilla. ---Sluzzelin talk 06:45, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Piranha, Alsatian, St Bernard, Retriever, Iguana Bluap (talk) 13:46, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Okapi, Cicada - Lindert (talk) 13:57, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

There's a long list downloadable as a zip-file here, click on "amphibrach 010" (see also the article on amphibrach). ---Sluzzelin talk 14:02, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

(Okay, it's quite long, and the animals are scattered sparsley. Of the ones not mentioned so far, I saw arachnid and chinchilla, but didn't go beyond yet). ---Sluzzelin talk 14:07, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Thank you all, these are great! I will definitely review Sluzzelin's list, that's fantastically useful and I thank you, but if any more do occur to anyone do please keep them coming. 184.147.137.171 (talk) 17:00, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Alpaca, vicuña, guanaco. - Lindert (talk) 19:34, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Constrictor? Some people say chim-PAN-zee. Dalmatian. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 21:02, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

"St Bernard" might work if pronounced as the name of a British church, but it doesn't fit in American English. The rest do. μηδείς (talk) 22:05, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Rosella, Trevalla, Trevally, canary. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 23:06, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Agouti. I think. I read that much more than I hear it. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:59, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Crustacean. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 08:26, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Red Panda165.212.189.187 (talk) 18:45, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Red Panda doesn't work, it has two primary stresses, ans doe St Bernard in American. μηδείς (talk) 03:35, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Whatever, I stress it the same way I do all the other words listed above (eg chinchilla)?165.212.189.187 (talk) 17:43, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Again, thanks all. Red Panda actually would work in the context I need (not a limerick, though those were quite amusing!), so I've added a bunch similar to my list, such as king penguin, grey owl. But the true amphibrachs are perfect. Thanks everyone. 184.147.137.171 (talk) 18:06, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Query: Does "owl" have 2 syllabubs in your idiolect? I've never encountered that. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 22:36, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Yes, definitely two syllables, not sure about the puddings :) For me it's a perfect rhyme with towel. 184.147.137.171 (talk) 11:26, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

Ah, that's the thing. For me, "towel" is one syllable. Same for "bowel", "foul", "fowl", "howl", "jowl", "Powell" and "vowel". -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 11:40, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

JIM CROW What is the origin of this term, meaning discriminatory laws against African Americans

Please tell me who was the original Jim Crow. Was it a character from Dumbo, the Walt Disney Movie and if so, how did come by its current meaning? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.190.171.238 (talk) 23:28, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Please see Jim Crow laws. Bus stop (talk) 23:30, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

The name goes back a century or more before the Disney movie, according to the generally accepted story... AnonMoos (talk) 00:44, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

According to the article, that term "Jim Crow" was highly offensive, but presumably it's still used because of its historical significance, along with being obsolete now. But in pop culture, crows were used to symbolize black people, long before Disney came along. Moran and Mack,[1] for example. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:48, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Apparently the earliest use of the term was the song "Jump Jim Crow", dating from 1828. The song was performed in blackface so the association with crude black sterotypes was already well established. --Jayron32 02:36, 21 May 2013 (UTC)