Rutch-a-riffic
Thanks to all who were able to help me out with my recent post about being “rutchy.”
Mark in Austria came to the “German origin” rescue again. He writes: “Rutschen (v) means to slip or slide and is used many different ways here … as in Die Straße ist rutschig (the street is slippy) and at New Years (Silvester) we wish one another Einen Guten Rutsch! (slide good in the New Year). So that one was easy and yes, we also say one is rutschig (squirmy) when one cannot sit still … so tell your daughter ‘bleib rühig’ (pronounced blibe roohig), which means to remain quiet…Alles Gute!!!”
Friend and fellow editor-and-lifelong-Yorker Jess said, “I’ve heard it (probably from my grandparents and father) as a verb: ‘Jessica, stop rutchin’ around!’ … I actually think I might have said this phrase in the office in the past month or so, which is really odd.”
Jo tried to make both Jess and I feel better, reassuring us this is NOT odd. She says, “Like Jess, I remember hearing it as a small child from grandparents. Sometimes our brain plays tricks on us and will automatically bring up words from its depths like rutchin’ that fly off the tongue before we even know what was said.”
Thanks, Jo! That does make me feel better!
My good friend Crystal, who works in health care, says, “I would have spelled it rutch and I’ve even said it to patients ‘Go ahead and rutch up in the bed.’ … I usually say ‘as we say around here,’ because some people will look at you like you have three eyes! I love reading these york-isms.”
I guess, though, given Mark’s info, it might best be spelled “rutschy” ?? I like “rutch” a lot better, though!
