Monday, September 13, 2010

Strapping children

I was ticking myself off for using such a tired old cliché as 'strapping sons' when I paused to wonder if anybody still uses it nowadays – in which case it is more of an archaism than a cliché. And what does it mean anyway?

Imagine my surprise when I turned to the OED to find ‘Originally of a young woman: Full of activity, vigorous, lusty (obs.). Now of a person of either sex: Strongly and stoutly built, robust, sturdy.’

A quick Google showed that ‘strapping son(s)’ is still in common enough use (about 10,000 results).

A ‘strapping girl’ however produces many times more – about 80,000 – all of which seem to be of a kind that is unsuitable for an elderly lady to look at.

But 'strapping young woman' - about 90,000 results - seems respectable enough.

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