Sunday, May 03, 2009

Napoo Finny

Napoo Finny: it's a new one on me; you can find it Ford Madox Ford, Some Do Not..., Chapter IV:
But over the doorsill of that place the foot of Tietjens was never going to go! Never! It would mean a good deal of unpleasantness; or rather it would mean one sharp: "C-r-r-unch!" And then: Napoo finny!
That's page 244 of my Vintage Edition of Parade's End, the tetralogy of which Some Do Not ... forms the first part. Or better in Chapter V (p. 266) here's Christopher's great love, Valentine Wannop:
She surrendered. She waited for him to speak the word, or look the look that should unite them. She was finished. Chastity: napoo finny!
To my utter astonishment (but why should I be astonished?) I find a perfectly plausible etymology and definition at Wordie:
Bastardization of the French "n'y a plus; fini" meaning "no more".
H/T "Madmouth," who is said to have added ",171 words, 22 lists, 590 comments, and 358 tags" to Wordie, so maybe s/he knows what s/he is talking about.

1 comment:

Elise said...

Napoo finny! I needed this phrase, and you found it for me. Merci beaucoup!