If something’s larrupin’ good, it’s spankin’ good or thumpin’ good. It comes from the word larrup, a verb meaning “to beat or thrash.” This is part of a complete episode.
Leave a comment
1 comment
More from this show
In English, you can express skepticism with the classic saying when pigs fly. In Tagalog, a similar sentiment is expressed with a phrase that translates “when the crow turns white, when the heron turns black,” and there’s a Hungarian phrase that...
Dax in Santa Cruz, California, wonders: Now that we’re into the 21st century, when will people stop saying that initial 20 when referring to a year such as 2028 the way we dropped the 19 in the term 1980s and just started referring to the ’80s? This...
My mother was from Missouri. She used the word larrupin to describe especially delicious food (after tasting it). (A couple generations prior to hers immigrated from England, so I thought there might be a chance it had been carried over).
I am having trouble understanding how the meaning is related to the meaning of the original word meaning thrashing or beating.
I have heard of “brand spanking new”, but I have never heard of spankin’ good or thumpin’ good.
One source said larrupin is a word from a dialect used in the western US, which also puzzled me, as the limited range doesn’t include the part of the country I grew up in (Missouri) and heard it used. I have lived in Colorado for 45 years and have never heard it used here. Everyone looks at me cross-eyed when I use it.
(I have also seen larrupin defined as too sweet, cloying, which is surprising as it is a derogatory term rather than complimentary).