According
to a report we have just seen on the internet, the Oxford
English Dictionary is asking the British public to help
them find examples of the first usage of around 40 naughty
English terms including 'Tosser', 'Prat', 'Wassock' and
'Wally'.
They
are also trying to find out if anyone went 'dogging' before
1993 (dogging is when people have sex outside in a car and
other people watch).
Other
questions being asked include:
Was
1989 the first time anyone used the term 'the dogs bollocks'?
Is
it possible that a couple somewhere coined the phrase
'domestic' for their loud arguments?
Did
anyone 'go bananas' before 1968?
Who
was a 'plonker' before 1966?
Did
you ever say someone was a 'duh brain' before 1997?
Where
was the first 'loo'? The phrase seems to go back to only
1940.
Who
decided that the name 'Gordon Bennet' is a mild expletive
in Britain?
The
full list is here.
If
you can help them, their web address is http://www.bbc.co.uk/balderdash.
