Usage of the word Squib in the mid-18th century by Oliver Goldsmith

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 161429

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at ...> wrote:

nerdie55:
> > Some time ago I read the book "The Vicar of Wakefield"
> > by Oliver Goldsmith and to my surprise he calls someone
> > a squib, just like in the Harry Potter books. In his 
> > case, according to Johnson's
> > dictionary, it refers to a "petty (little, insignificant)
> > man, ...
> > 
> > Squib sounds nice, but JKR didn't make the word up 
> > herself, .... Funny how you meet things like that 
> > occasionally.

bboyminn:
> Actually, you can look in any dictionary and find the 
> word 'Squib', and JKR has applied it very appropriately
> in her books.
> 
> A Squib is a round of ammunition, ordnance, shell, or
> firecracker that is a 'dud', that is, it is incapable 
> of firing or exploding. So, in this sense, a magical 
> Squib is a 'round' or 'firecracker' that didn't go off. 
> They had the magical potential, but that potential was 
> unrealized. In other words, they were a 'dud'.
> 
> This can also be applied to people in the real world.
> If you want to indicate a person is a failure or
> worthless, you would call them a 'dud' or a 'Squib'.
> 
> A squib is also one of a variety of devices for setting
> off or igniting a firework, rocket, or other device; though
> where I come from we would more likely call such a device 
> a 'punk'.
> 
> A Squib is also a 'lampoon'; a short witty humorous
> satirical bit of writing or speech. So, one could 
> say that JKR is squibbing the squib. 
> 
> http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/squib
> 
> Just passing it along.

Geoff:
There is an additonal informal meaning, certainly in UK English 
usage where something or someone failing to come up to 
expectations or proving a disappointment is referred to as a
"damp squib".