Why do we call Snape "greasy git' and what other names can we call him. WAS

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 144507

> horridporrid:
> > My personal least favorite Snape insult is Snivillus.  <snip> 
> > So whenever a grownup uses it I kind of picture them seeing this 
> > little eleven year old boy, hurt and sobbing, and pretty much 
> > calling him a cry baby.  Emotion over intellect, but there you go. 
> > <g>  

Valky:
Can I just imterject to point out that Sniveller does not mean 'cry
baby', at least not in the sense that I see you interpreting it Betsy. 
So I strongly suspect your mental image of Snivellus' Christening is
entirely wrong. Someone would be commonly called a sniveller if their
'crying woe' was intentionally insincere and manipulative, like Draco
playing up his injury in POA. Therefore I would say in an accurate
mental image of this scene James and Sirius would be the ones
suffering punishment and Snape would definitely have no reason to be
miserable because the term Sniveller would usually be coined if the
git got away with it! <g> 

A professional Sniveller might even one day make a living out of being
"two-faced", and that does fit Snape like a glove.

As for git, which is asked about on the rest of this thread, I am
fairly sure the source of this word is Ron. I know he calls Percy a
git in OOtP, and I think he speaks Harry's mind about Snape by calling
him a git at a tense moment in another book, or maybe it's TMTMNBN.
If it appears in a book then in a sense Git!Snape is pretty much
canon, and IMHO it should be, Snape is all of a git by the colloquial
definition of the word though I am not sure that can be entirely
conveyed here. 



> Jen:
> Which comes full-circle to Snape. What does JKR need for him to do 
> in Book 7? My personal opinion is she needs to inspire Harry's 
> compassion and also to help him understand what mistakes Snape made 
> that pulled him toward dark magic and LV's camp. The way to do that 
> will be to continue the story started in OOTP, with the bits from 
> the Occlumency lesson and Snape being the target of bullying, and 
> add to that story in such a way that Harry will realize who Snape 
> IS. Not who Harry thinks he is, but the full story of how Severus 
> Snape became the person standing in front of Harry whom he hates 
> *even more* than the evil monster who killed his parents, set-up 
> Sirius and possibly (IMO) manipulated the killing of Dumbledore.


Valky:
I tend to see Snivellus as more likely to make it *harder* for Harry
to forgive Snape than easier. When the origin of the name Snivellus is
revealed it will not vindicate Snape as the completely innocent
victim, I am sure. Harry will recognise "Snivellus" as well, because
he will look exactly like the man who advocated for Harry's expulsion
in second year, and wore many disctinct faces nice pleasant and polite
ones for those who would benefit him and a sneer for anything else
held to be beneath him. In all I don't think Jo is setting Snape up to
become entirely pathetic in Harry's eyes and especially not by
revealing the source of the name Snivellus. I feel confident to
guarantee that it won't be so easy to pity Snivellus and Harry will
hate and does already hate him as much as his father and Sirius did.
Mark my words. <g>

Valky