Tony Cooper
2019-10-23 15:26:55 UTC
In a book I'm reading there's a character with the first name of
"Toots". Not a nickname. It's her legal name. She was named after
Toots Thielemans, a musician who played the harmonica* ("Toots" was
his nickname, though, and his legal first name was Jean-Baptist)
The book's author points out that "Toots" rhymes with "puts", not
"roots".
The only other "Toots" that I can think of was Toots Shore, the owner
of a famous NYC saloon and restaurant. (He was Bernard, legally) I
never visited the place, so I don't know how it was pronounced by the
crowd that went there.
"Toots", though, is a (disparaged) term for a woman like "Babe". I've
never used it, but would have been inclined to rhyme it with "roots".
Would it have cause any more distress to both use it *and*
mispronounce it?
*The author identifies him as a "famous harmonica player". I have
trouble thinking of a harmonica player as "famous".
"Toots". Not a nickname. It's her legal name. She was named after
Toots Thielemans, a musician who played the harmonica* ("Toots" was
his nickname, though, and his legal first name was Jean-Baptist)
The book's author points out that "Toots" rhymes with "puts", not
"roots".
The only other "Toots" that I can think of was Toots Shore, the owner
of a famous NYC saloon and restaurant. (He was Bernard, legally) I
never visited the place, so I don't know how it was pronounced by the
crowd that went there.
"Toots", though, is a (disparaged) term for a woman like "Babe". I've
never used it, but would have been inclined to rhyme it with "roots".
Would it have cause any more distress to both use it *and*
mispronounce it?
*The author identifies him as a "famous harmonica player". I have
trouble thinking of a harmonica player as "famous".
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida