mikejhelms has adopted no words, looked up 0 words, created 0 lists, listed 0 words, written 3 comments, added 0 tags, and loved 0 words.
Comments for mikejhelms
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Mike, thanks for bringing it up. This is what wordnik is all about.
June 15, 2014
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I enjoyed this short discussion because it reminded me to be careful about assuming that something is “obviously true.” In my original post I assumed in his rejoinder to Watson, “So, not much cop this caring lark” Sherlock used what I thought were most probably British slang terms “cop” and “lark” that, given the context, almost surely meant perseverance and a group of people, respectively. If anyone commented on my post I expected it would be an etymological explanation of how the slang came to be used as such. But given your replies I see now I was wrong not only in defining what was the slang term/phrase, it being “not much cop” as opposed to “cop”, and the meaning of both that phrase and of “lark.” Having learned my lesson I can now say it is an obvious truth that care should be taken when one assumes something is obviously true.
June 14, 2014
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Thanks, yarb. This expression is new to me and looking around the web I see that it has baffled many a Yank before. I never would have figured out the etymology that one online commentator attributes to the OED:
““not much cop”, meaning not very good. OED says that goes back to pre-WWI army slang for an acquisition of little worth. Apparently that is derived from a slang verb “to cop”, a broad or dialect pronunciation of “to cap” meaning to catch (possibly from French caper, to seize), which seems to have appeared in English in the late 16th c.
OED also has “not much chop” as the Aus/NZ variant, first citation going back to 1909. That’s nearly as old as their first citation for “not much cop” - 1902. ”
June 13, 2014
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Basically, Holmes is sarcastically mocking Watson for not profiting by his (Watson's) amicable nature.
June 13, 2014
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I'm sure "lark" here is closely related to "lark" as in pastime or diversion. It's a way of making something out to be un-serious, sort of a folly.
June 13, 2014
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Perhaps as a Brit I could just step in here. "Not much cop" is a colloquialism meaning "not up to much", "not great". It is a frozen idiom; you can't say "much cop" or "pretty cop", only "not much cop".
Describing something as a lark, in the way that Sherlock does, is a mark of sarcasm. So Sherlock is saying that Watson's "caring" is basically a waste of time, a foolish thing. Again, this only works in context. "This x lark" is the construction, and it serves a healthy measure of disrespect to x.
E.g. "so, yarb, this Wordnik lark, enjoying it, are you?"
June 13, 2014
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As you please, but I think that "lark" was the clearer of the two expressions. I cannot account for every instance of a word's employment but I have seen "lark" used countless times to mean to do something because it is amusing or pleasurable. I have never seen it used to describe refraining from any activity. I think it may have it's origins in "skylarking" to describe young sailors playing in the rigging; at least O'Brian clearly thought so.
June 12, 2014
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Thank you for your response, qms. I also speculated that “cop” might be related to the expression “to cop out” and so agree that in this context may mean “commitment” or “to take responsibility for.” But I don't think “lark” was used in the “amusement or a fancy” sense. I came across a reference to it as British slang for “not doing something because it is too laborious” which I think is more likely the intended meaning given Sherlock's use of it.
June 12, 2014
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You will find "lark" as an amusement or a fancy generously documented on its page in Wordnik. To "cop to" something means to admit it and to "cop out" of something means to disavow or disengage, so I suppose "cop" could be used as an approximate synonym for commitment. I think Holmes is accusing Watson of showing little commitment to a cause taken lightly. Perhaps someone with British credentials can shed more light.
June 9, 2014
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Original Comment: I’m a fan of the BBC series Sherlock. In it Sherlock occasionally uses some British slang that I’m either already familiar with or the meaning of which I find after a brief net search. But I’m stuck on why he uses the words “cop and “lark” when he responds to Dr. Watson’s criticism that he is too cold and uncaring by countering that caring would slow down his analysis of the case which if solved would help the people that Watson is concerned about. He then asks Watson to follow him to the crime scene but Watson, still angry over Holmes’ emotional indifference, hesitates. Sherlock sees his hesitation and says in a scornful tone, “So, not much cop this caring lark.” Based on the context and his tone I’m assuming cop is British slang for either courage or perseverance and lark is a synonymous with lot as in a group of people. Does anyone have more specific information on the etymology of these words as used in this context.
Alexz: Thank you for the references.June 9, 2014
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You'll find that sometimes when people use an odd phrase, tons of fans will discuss it online.
http://www.bing.com/search?setmkt=en-CA&q=cop+this+caring+larkI wonder if the fanfic use came before the first use by the TV Sherlock.June 9, 2014
Comments by mikejhelms
mikejhelms commented on the user mikejhelms
I enjoyed this short discussion because it reminded me to be careful about assuming that something is “obviously true.” In my original post I assumed in his rejoinder to Watson, “So, not much cop this caring lark” Sherlock used what I thought were most probably British slang terms “cop” and “lark” that, given the context, almost surely meant perseverance and a group of people, respectively. If anyone commented on my post I expected it would be an etymological explanation of how the slang came to be used as such. But given your replies I see now I was wrong not only in defining what was the slang term/phrase, it being “not much cop” as opposed to “cop”, and the meaning of both that phrase and of “lark.” Having learned my lesson I can now say it is an obvious truth that care should be taken when one assumes something is obviously true.
June 14, 2014
mikejhelms commented on the user mikejhelms
Thank you for your response, qms. I also speculated that “cop” might be related to the expression “to cop out” and so agree that in this context may mean “commitment” or “to take responsibility for.” But I don't think “lark” was used in the “amusement or a fancy” sense. I came across a reference to it as British slang for “not doing something because it is too laborious” which I think is more likely the intended meaning given Sherlock's use of it.
June 12, 2014
mikejhelms commented on the user mikejhelms
Original Comment: I’m a fan of the BBC series Sherlock. In it Sherlock occasionally uses some British slang that I’m either already familiar with or the meaning of which I find after a brief net search. But I’m stuck on why he uses the words “cop and “lark” when he responds to Dr. Watson’s criticism that he is too cold and uncaring by countering that caring would slow down his analysis of the case which if solved would help the people that Watson is concerned about. He then asks Watson to follow him to the crime scene but Watson, still angry over Holmes’ emotional indifference, hesitates. Sherlock sees his hesitation and says in a scornful tone, “So, not much cop this caring lark.” Based on the context and his tone I’m assuming cop is British slang for either courage or perseverance and lark is a synonymous with lot as in a group of people. Does anyone have more specific information on the etymology of these words as used in this context.
Alexz: Thank you for the references.
June 9, 2014