James Cann now married living in a small village with his family in Devon will undoubtedly be responsible for future entries in the Oxford English Dictionary. Words and phrases coined by Cann in the late seventies through to the mid-nineties took resonance with the Devonshire locals and his peers. His self made lifestyle led to a distinct distaste for "wasters" and those not "pulling their weight." This coupled with an emotional restraint and a quirky but harmless temper led to an artistic Tourette like ability to insult individuals at the core of their being without them knowing or having a clue as the severity of the insult.
Words and Phrases
Wondering Nomad Lapp.
This lies at the core of the Cann philosophy that states that we are all responsible for ourselves and need little help from others. Cann firmly held the view that anyone on unemployment benefit is a twat and should get a job. This phrase refers to those whom are somewhat lost in life, having no motivation, drive or commitment -i.e. a hippy.
Use; "that boy is a bloody wondering nomad lap -he'll make no good of himself"
Pakes
This is a very difficult word spell, the spelling of which has been a subject of contention for a number of years. Even Cann who created this word in collusion with his close friend Mark Styles in the early eighties has no idea has to spell it. However a number of scholars have recently decided on the above connotation. On pronunciation the "a" in "pakes" is somewhat intonated.
Use; "oh you fucking pakes, what have you done?"
Winky
A "winky" is derivation of "wanker" though the meaning holds no relationship betwen the two words and such a somewhat less offensive word is created. Winky may refer to a weakness in the context of camp or a lacking physical strength or unmanly presence. This word is usually thrown at those who appear weak, not confident and annoying or arrogant with it.
Use; "he's a bit of a winky he is" or "you winky twat"
Winkyshatstain
This takes "winky" implants a greater insult through use of more common swear word derivation. With this clever insult Cann was able not only to clearly indicate his dislike for weakness and lack of Independence in people, but also confuse individuals by implanting the thought in the recipients mind, which went something like this;
"mmm..shatstain? what is that? Shit -is that what he means? But surely shit is not that effective when it comes to staining? Did that bastard call me a shit stain? no, can't be, shit does not stain...does shit stain?"
And so forth. This invariably leaves the subconscious of the of the insulted in a confused, fragile, unsure and damaged state.
6 comments:
G - I read your comments with much interest and hilarity. Having also known the use of these phrases by the man and in some cases being on the receiving end I would like to congratulate you on finally bringing them to the public attention.
I have often pondered about the spelling of the word 'pakes'. Having now looked at all the alternatives I believe yours to be the best spelling, although one must really stress the 'a' - think more like 'paaaaaaakes'. I often mused on whether the word was a french derivate perhaps as in 'p'aix'? Perhaps it could also be spelt paix or paikes or paxe.
However I have spent some fruitless time searching for the word as an insult on the internet. I suggest you add a new entry with your definitive spelling to Wikipedia.
May I respectfully suggest the correction of a few mis-spellings such as your use of 'week' where it should clearly be 'weak'. Other than that your observation is spot-on.
Re: Pakes and derivative spellings, you may find of interest in Paris they have a Rue de la Paix.
Also I have looked into the use of 'winky'. Obviously the yanks use it quite a lot as in this entry. However no-one as far as I know is able to put quite the same venom into the word, especially when coupled with the use of 'shatstain'.
I did find an excellent use for Shat Stain as a band name however it was overshadowed on this page by the magnificent 'speedy gon-to the shitter and craps real'.
Being familiar with the pronunciation of this word, I believe I can help here. The best way to resolve this issue is to spell it phonetically, i.e. [pE:ks] whereby the E represents the open-mid frontal vowel, the : representing the elongation of that vowel (sadly this keyboard does not allow me to use the correct phonetic symbol). Of particular interest is that the occurrence of this vowel with an elongated suprasegmental is a rare and unique thing, given that typically this vowel is short, and never elongated, hence why it never appears at the very ends of words. It typically occurs as a short vowel in words such as 'cleft', 'set', and 'fell'. The fact that it is elongated in pex (which I think is the most appropriate spelling)just highlights the beauty and originality of this neologism.
When my girlfriend arrived in England she learned the word "TWAT" from James.
Interesting to see how the obvious use of the term "winkyshatstain" has been somewhat ignored in your blog and morphed into the more Manly, long loined and muscular "G-Man"
May i put forward for conversation the words "gumby" and the "hislops"
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