Friday, January 11, 2008

Dowry

DOWRY, n.  The worm upon the matrimonial hook in man-fishing.

2008 Update:  A bribe to embellish a marriage contract, recently less fashionable in deference to divorce.

25 comments:

Tom & Icy said...

I used to keep a dowry before I started my blog.

Kyahgirl said...

ha ha Icy, you are so funny!! I didn't really notice your accent before but it really comes through on your pronunciation of diary!! :-)

I was enslaved by Dow for many years and to cope had to drink a lot of rye. I think you might have missed an e somewhere, its Dowrye.

TLP said...

Your update is perfect I think.

Another version is the engagement ring, which is basically a deposit left on a woman. See also, I'll be back to collect you later. Maybe. Unless I stumble over something better.

Anonymous said...

Dowry: paper bag.

oops... heh heh. guess that was a bit unkind. that said, is it just me, or does dowry seem like dowdy's better monied and/or more attractive cousin? ; )

(great update, by the way)

Anonymous said...

It's good that you updated...the original meaning seems very old and chauvinistic.

Anonymous said...

DOWRY n. monies paid for maid services.

Unknown said...

just a little something extra to help a groom get by, just in case the poor dear can't get it by himself. in the old days, it could be a country, but they're all taken up now

hdpsirj: how do you like it, sir?

Doug The Una said...

"Dear dowry, today I made a dollar. Don't ask questions."

Kyah, slave's quarters have come a long way.

"A deposit left on a woman?" Blogmama, sometimes I think you're testing me.

Puppy, I think they presence of a dowry predicts the presence of a dowdy.

Mo'a, I try to be gallant.

Quilly, is that what you call it in Idaho?

Karma, I miss imperialism.

I agree, Actonbell. Of course, someday soon we might have to pay dowries to our employers. Won't that suck?

Nessa said...

I'm sowry Doug. Maybe I need to be put on Meds. Can i some some please?

Anonymous said...

agreed. hence my contention that a dowry might act as a "paper bag" over Miss Ugly Fiancée's head. d'oh!

Dowry: foreplay?

Anonymous said...

Why do I always agree with TLP? and the first letters of WV are TLP--though uncapped

Going to use my other name and blog here

The Old Mule said...

dowry: a wand to find find water. Wait, no. A wand to find adult intimacy.

Ariel the Thief said...

It's not the dowry in their hands but the dowry in their minds that makes the difference. The deposit, the country and the water are all important, too, of course.

Minka said...

dowry,n. I am at ease with this problem, I have a rather beautiful stamp collection and several penguin articles. What king would not want me? PLUS two horses!

Jamie Dawn said...

Here in AR, a woman with most her teeth and a sturdy set of wide hips for childbearing is well equipped for man-fishing. A woman like that is assured of man-catching without need of a DOWRY.
A skinny, snake-hipped woman needs to toss in a couple of hogs and some whiskey to close the deal.

I LOVE the term "man-fishing!!"

tsduff said...

I have a sister who was once offered a dowry from an African student at Biola... actually he offered the dowry (or called it something similar) to my father in exchange for my sister's hand in marriage. It consisted of 2 cows. My sister was hysterical. (Dad said no thanks).

Tom & Icy said...

Mmmmmmm. Liver with fava beans and a nice chianti. Lick-smack, lick-smack, lick-smack!

The OE said...

Dowry: The act of moving in the general manner of a financial markets securities index, usually while intoxicated

Cie Cheesemeister said...

The Cheesemeister's one-time husband was distressed by the dowry presented to him by her parents. They told him he was a bum and would never amount to anything and should hit the road. This is the kind of dowry no man wants. I think it's called a "downer."

Indeterminacy said...

Dowry: next to cooking, the way to a man's heart.

Mutha said...

Dowry: The perfect reference to the movie The Quiet Man -- because, as Maureen reminds us, "A woman needs her t'ings about her."
Otherwise she came out with S*IT to her name.

Doug The Una said...

Nessa, I think you already some some.

Ah, gosh, Neva. That was a great joke and went, well, over my head. Sincere apologies. You deserved a guffaw.

I see that, Tani. I'm just one cure for the common cold away from familiarizing myself with your new blog and humanity.

A dowsing rod and a drowsing rod, Mule?

Ariel, so many details. Cash on the barrelhead seems a real handy simplification.

Minka, Richard III sure would.

Jamie Dawn, I love your description of Arkansawyer man-fishing.

Terry, my African Studies minor gets so little use these days. It's called "Bridewealth" or "Brideprice."

Hahaha, Icy. And it isn't cannibalism if you're a dog.

OE, heavily mortgaged subprime dowries are the story of my life. Maybe I should move to Arkansas.

A "downry?" Cheesie? I take it your parents were right.

Indie, I hear there's a third.

Marquis of Queensbury rules, Mutha?

mireille said...

I could have sworn I made a comment that said, "Paying it forward. To be recovered in the settlement." But it must have been the muscle relaxants talking. That scares me. What else have I said or not said. *shudder* xoxo

tsduff said...

Mireille - I'm suffering from the exact same thing... I not only KNOW I wrote a comment to the next post (above)this afternoon before I went walking, but I watched it post. Hmmmm... there is a comment stealer about... Sorry about the muscle relaxers. I have some old ones but they probably won't help now.

I Dive At Night said...

Dowry: An old technique to ensure marriage. Now made antiquated by the liberation of women, the invention of contraception, and the obsolescence of marriage itself.