Willy Widdershins

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 169233

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Bart Lidofsky <bartl at ...> wrote:

justcarol67:
> > Carol, noting that "Widdershins" means "in a left-handed, wrong, or
> > contrary direction" (no offense to lefties intended!) and wondering
> > whether Wrong-Way Willy will make any more minor mischief in DH
> > (alliteration only partially intentional!)
> 
> I think left-handed people are pretty sinister. As for myself, I'm 
> pretty dextrous.

Bart: 
> As for Widdershins, I'm still shocked that nobody in the Wizarding World 
> calls their kid, "Almighty", or "Genius", or something like that, 
> instead of something like "Dung".

Geoff:
In its origins, "widdershins" is not specifically left-handed. It's 
basically a Scots word - with JKR now living in Scotland and 
things like "Grimmauld' flying around, that figures :-).

My dictionary defines it as:
adverb chiefly Scottish in a direction contrary to the sun's 
course (or anticlockwise) considered as unlucky.

Origin - High German wider 'against' + sin 'direction'; the 
second element was associated with Scots sin 'sun'.

Perhaps it just suggests that Willy is a bit contrary.