ED Syndrome Dicussion

SomebodyWakeUpHIcks
SomebodyWakeUpHIcks Posts: 3,836 Member
in Chit-Chat
Not sure if this should be posted in Chit Chat or if another area of MFP would be more appropriate but I'm thinking of calling my new pet dog Edward but I know all my friends will want to call him Ed. Should I let this happen or correct them and say that my preference would be to call him Edward?

The whole shortening of names is a syndrome in the English language - one that should be addressed.

Michael - Mike
Andrew - Andy
Richard - Dick
Henry - Hank

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Replies

  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,490 Member
    Fill ?
  • Caporegiem
    Caporegiem Posts: 4,297 Member
    What about William - Bill? That one always puzzled me but not enough to make me Google the reasoning behind it.
  • _pi3_
    _pi3_ Posts: 2,311 Member
    Caporegiem wrote: »
    What about William - Bill? That one always puzzled me but not enough to make me Google the reasoning behind it.

    Same

    Also Richard and Dick
  • grayblackmfp
    grayblackmfp Posts: 140 Member
    Teddy
  • Bluetail6
    Bluetail6 Posts: 2,862 Member
    Oops, thought this discussion was about something else entirely :D
  • SomebodyWakeUpHIcks
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks Posts: 3,836 Member
    @Bluetail6 wrote: »
    Oops, thought this discussion was about something else entirely :D

    What?
  • Renaissance_Turtle
    Renaissance_Turtle Posts: 960 Member
    edited September 2017
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks wrote: »
    @Bluetail6 wrote: »
    Oops, thought this discussion was about something else entirely :D

    What?

    It's probably the whole shortening aspect of the thread that they're confused about.
    Some nicknames & "shortened" name versions are longer than the original.
    Nancy is short for Ann, Johnny or Johnnie is short for John, Polly is short for Mary...
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    Caporegiem wrote: »
    What about William - Bill? That one always puzzled me but not enough to make me Google the reasoning behind it.

    There are many theories on why Bill became a nickname for William; the most obvious is that it was part of the Middle Ages trend of letter swapping. Much how Dick is a rhyming nickname for Rick, the same is true of Bill and Will. Because hard consonants are easier to pronounce than soft ones, some believe Will morphed into Bill for phonetic reasons. Interestingly, when William III ruled over in England in the late 17th century, his subjects mockingly referred to him as “King Billy.”
  • mskimee
    mskimee Posts: 228 Member
    Renaissance_Turtle wrote: »
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks wrote: »
    @Bluetail6 wrote: »
    Oops, thought this discussion was about something else entirely :D

    What?

    It's probably the whole shortening aspect of the thread that they're confused about.
    Some nicknames & "shortened" name versions are longer than the original.
    Nancy is short for Ann, Johnny or Johnnie is short for John, Polly is short for Mary...

    Same here, I'm Kim and get called "Kimmy" by a lot of people. :|
  • pudgy1977
    pudgy1977 Posts: 13,499 Member
    So why do some John's go by Jack? Riddle me that
  • Just_J_Now
    Just_J_Now Posts: 9,551 Member
    pudgy1977 wrote: »
    So why do some John's go by Jack? Riddle me that

    That one was always a mystery to me too.
  • MistyB023
    MistyB023 Posts: 521 Member
    I never understood Peggy being short of Elizabeth???
  • pudgy1977
    pudgy1977 Posts: 13,499 Member
    Elizabeth → Eliza, Libby, Liz, Lizzy, Lisa, Beth, Bess
  • Just_J_Now
    Just_J_Now Posts: 9,551 Member
    MistyB023 wrote: »
    I never understood Peggy being short of Elizabeth???

    I though Peggy was short for Margaret...lol...go figure.
  • SomebodyWakeUpHIcks
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks Posts: 3,836 Member
    What about Henry/Hank?
  • Just_J_Now
    Just_J_Now Posts: 9,551 Member
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks wrote: »
    What about Henry/Hank?

    That makes no sense to me either. Just call your dog Hicks.
  • kschwab0203
    kschwab0203 Posts: 610 Member
    Or how Robert turns into Bobby
  • SomebodyWakeUpHIcks
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks Posts: 3,836 Member
    J_Surita3 wrote: »
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks wrote: »
    What about Henry/Hank?

    That makes no sense to me either. Just call your dog Hicks.

    That would confuse my mother.
  • MistyB023
    MistyB023 Posts: 521 Member
    J_Surita3 wrote: »
    MistyB023 wrote: »
    I never understood Peggy being short of Elizabeth???

    I though Peggy was short for Margaret...lol...go figure.

    You're right. I had the dumbs. :p
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,793 Member
    forward0backward wrote: »
    Caporegiem wrote: »
    What about William - Bill? That one always puzzled me but not enough to make me Google the reasoning behind it.

    Same

    Also Richard and Dick

    Some Richards are Riches and some Richards are Ricks, but a few Richards are Dicks.

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