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Message |
    
ex PFC Wintergreen
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, April 24, 2005 - 11:11 pm: | 
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I've seen it written in a few places that the "Boss" from "Dear Boss" is American slang.
On the envelope, it says something like:
The Boss
Central News Agency
Isn't it more plausible that the hoaxer simply didn't know the name of the boss of the central news agency, so he just wrote boss?
Following on for him to write Dear Boss in the same vein?
Wintergreen.
PS. I put odds on the post to be answered at least over a month. |
ex PFC Wintergreen
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, July 03, 2005 - 1:00 am: |
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Over two months, wow, this really must be a truly solitary and godforsaken corner of the website. |
Dan Norder
Chief Inspector
Username: Dannorder
Post Number: 759
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 05, 2005 - 6:19 am: |
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Hiya xPFC W,
You've fallen prey to the curse of the unregistered user again. The search option for registered users to see new posts often misses messages that were written at a different time from when they were posted.
Your idea certainly could work, though it's certainly not a standard way of addressing a letter even to someone you don't know.
Of course I like to think that a drunken Thomas Bulling wrote it as a lark (or after being told to find a way to spice up the coverage of the murders) and sent it to the Central News Agency knowing that his boss would indeed receive it.
Dan Norder, Editor
Ripper Notes: The International Journal for Ripper Studies
 Profile  Email  Dissertations  Website
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ex PFC Wintergeen
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Saturday, July 09, 2005 - 7:17 pm: |
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To me it does sound like the sort of way of addressing a message especially to some one you didn't know. If you were trying to be subversive and you didn't know the name of "the boss" (or pretending to not know the name of the boss.
If it was me sending the letter it's exactly how I'd address assuming people would think I'm talking about the central news agency's boss. |
Andrew Spallek
Chief Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 902
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, July 11, 2005 - 10:31 am: |
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Trouble is, it could be the way a semi-literate person would address a letter or it could be the way someone pretending to be a semi-literate man would address a letter. I can't tell for sure but something about the whole letter sounds "faked" to me, as if it were a literate man pretending. [An educated man being straightforward would have addressed the letter to "Managing Editor" or something like that].
Also, while "boss" sounds like perfectly common informal speech to me as an American, apparently it was not yet a common expression in Britain in 1888.
Andy S. |
ex PFC Wintergreen
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 2:10 am: |
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I'm not talking about informal speech, like a "Dear Mate," or "Dear Pal,"
I'm suggesting that he wrote "Boss" because he was addressing it to a boss, the boss of the central news agency. It would be like me addressing a letter to the prime minister as "Dear Prime Minister", which is what someone would write if they didn't know the name of the prime minister. I'm suggesting maybe by not knowing (or pretending to not know) the boss' name he had reason enough to write "Dear Boss" which has nothing to do with informality or Americans and that the letter is quite possibly written by anyone of any race provided they could speak english. |
Andrew Spallek
Chief Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 981
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 12:13 pm: |
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"Boss" is not a proper term; it is slang. Whether it was peculiarly American slang I don't know. I would not write a letter to the CEO of a company and address it "Dear Boss." "Dear Sir" would be the appropriate address if the name is not known.
Andy S. |
Donald Souden
Chief Inspector
Username: Supe
Post Number: 706
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 12:57 pm: |
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Wintergreen,
Whether the writer meant it as simply a flippant salutation or intended it be passed on to the person in charge makes no difference to the argument the term at the time was considered an Americanism. I don't know if that is true or not, but a general reading of newspapers at the time suggests that popular culture and language passed more rapidly across the Atlantic than pedants might suppose. Still, if the term was not in common usage in Britain that would more strongly suggest it was written by an American or, as Dan said, a journalist since people in that profession are more likely to be aware of the latest slang terms.
Don.
"He was so bad at foreign languages he needed subtitles to watch Marcel Marceau."
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Andy and Sue Parlour
Detective Sergeant
Username: Tenbells
Post Number: 134
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 2:38 pm: |
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Hi All,
Re the term boss. It is an old English term a well as a more modern American word. A derivative of Bo'sun which itself is a derivative of Boatswain. Other users were drovers when driving cattle, the headman or farmer was often called the 'Bossman' after the lead bull itself being called the 'Boss' . The centre of a wheel is a boss or hub. W. Newton when writing 'Secrets Of Tramp Life Revealed' in 1886 states the word 'Boss' is in common use to describe a Lodging House Keeper or Master.
AWP |
Howard Brown
Chief Inspector
Username: Howard
Post Number: 876
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 8:29 pm: |
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Dear Andy and Sue:
Obviously we don't know what the author[ Ripper or otherwise ] of the Dear Boss letter was alluding to for certain, with the "Boss" reference,but...this is pretty interesting stuff about the other connotations in British-English that could possibly be what the author was driving at.
I checked out a site [ I only found one ] that had a reference to this W.Newton and slang definitions, which was:
" 1886 W. NEWTON [Secrets Tramp Life Revealed] Posh..money of all kind." [Magic Mushroom Forum ]
Interesting post,Andy and Sue. Thanks a lot for posting that info. |
Caroline Anne Morris
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Caz
Post Number: 2071
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 - 1:16 pm: |
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Hi How,
The usual explanation for Posh is:
Port out, starboard home.
'Posh' people travelled by boat eastwards from Britain, making sure they stayed away from the sunny side for both outward and return journeys.
I'm not sure that sidestroke swimming to Brighton and back would count as posh though, boss. 
Love,
Caz
X |
Howard Brown
Chief Inspector
Username: Howard
Post Number: 887
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 - 5:19 pm: |
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Caz....
My dear woman,I would swim fried,dyed,and laid on the side to reach that beach if only thy presence were a'waiting on yon sands...
Thanks for the other usages of "posh" !
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