Can Somebody Please Tell Me

[amiabledorsai]

No: HPFGUIDX 144493


lagattalucianese:
 Where does the expression "greasy git" come from? Is it     
 canon?

Amiable Dorsai:
 His hair is greasy, that much is canon.  "Git" is a somewhat   
 overly polite way to refer to him, but it never hurts to be   
 polite, and the alliteration is nice.
  
Geoff:
 As a UK English speaker, I would consider "git" as anything but 
 polite. I would consider it extremely unpleasant and if I was on 
 the receiving end of the name, I think I would want very little 
 to do with the person who said it.
> 
Amiable Dorsai:
 I feel certain that "git" would be quite impolite if applied to    
 *you*.
 
 Betsy Hp:
 Can I just add how *tired* I am of the word?  It's like it's the 
 only British insult out there, which I *know* can't be true.  And 
 I'm not sure it really even applies to Snape.  He's many things, but 
 stupid or foolish (the definition I found) is not one of them.  It's 
 weird what fandom will glomp onto.

Amiable Dorsai: 
Well, there's "berk", of course,  A bit sexist, perhaps, though I've
heard it used as a term of almost affectionate contempt,  "Greasy
berk"?... I dunno, just seems wrong, somehow.

"Tosser" at least implies a certain human quality, but it's just a bad
image for me.  "Greasy tosser" gives him credit for a certain
practicality, I suppose.  He does seem a quite practical sort, when
he's not raving.

"Nosey-parker": accurate, in the same sense that it would be accurate
to say that New Orleans had a bit of a plumbing problem.  

"Buggering manky arse" is somewhere in the right vicinity.  Add
"greasy", and we're once again giving him credit for practicality. 
Something of a mouthful, though.

I dunno, "greasy git" is pithy, alliterative, and, when applied to
Snape, understated.  Hard to beat, don't you think?

Amiable Dorsai