pother

[prettygoodword]

pother - n., commotion, disturbance, uproar, heated discussion, fuss; a choking cloud of smoke or dust.


Rhymes with bother. Connotations of a to-do over something trivial. Also a verb, to worry, to bother, to be fuss over trifles. First recorded in 1591, in the sense of commotion, with origin unknown -- making this yet another example of Elizabethan slang that has survived the centuries.

---L.

Comments

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

I've been known to use the phrase "hot and pothered."

---L.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I wonder if its longevity can be attributed in part to Gilbert and Sullivan? (It's part of the dialogue in "Yeomen of the Guard".)

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I've seen it in Victorian novels before G&S -- Thackery, maybe? Trollope?

Does anyone have the full OED citation stream available?

---L.