Talk:Hootenanny

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Absolutely not Scots

Reliable sources say nothing about a Scots or Scotish English origin.

Here is an extended audio discussion, with even fuller information than the OED has:

http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/lexicon_valley/2015/11/lexicon_valley_pete_seeger_and_woody_guthrie_help_popularize_the_word_hootenanny.html

and a related article:

https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/the-hootin-hollerin-origins-of-hootenanny/

Gambaguru (talk) 16:13, 5 February 2017 (UTC)

Untitled

The Wikipedia entry for Hootenanny says:

In the Midwestern portion of the United States, a hootenanny refers to a post-harvest festival. Corn, pork from hogs, and elephant ears are standard food for this event. The climax of the evening after hours of dancing and the consumption of alcohol is the playing of the song “Cotton Eye Joe.”

If someone knows that is true, please add the fact to the article on Cotton-Eyed Joe as well. --GCL 23:05, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

Accidentally found, on the following page (http://www.maggiesfarm.it/pbmfff.htm) of an Italian fan site dedicated to Bob Dylan, the explanation of the 'etymological' origin of the word hootenanny. It should be checked and if correct added at the very beginning of the article. Translation of the text:

The term "Hootenanny" literally derives from Hoot 'n Annie, coined by cowboy Hoot Gibson and his wife Annie, who used to perform informal and wild acustic jam sessions with friends during folk-parties.

--213.156.52.105 (talk) 09:27, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

I am doubtful: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hootenanny claims that it is of "unknown origin". My personal (highly OR) hypothesis is that it is an increasingly sloppy pronounciation of "how-to-name-it". (However, from my limited knowledge, I cannot rule out that the two meanings have different etymologies.) 88.77.182.129 (talk) 21:41, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

huh?

The vast majority of the time people refer to Hootenanny they're talking about a performance. Why remove it? Also, no point in linking to Framus whatever if there's no article. 69.225.128.68 (talk) 23:47, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Because there is no article to link it to. The wiktionary box takes care of that. Lord Sesshomaru (talk • edits) 03:09, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Just a footnote on another possible meaning. When my Mother was a teenager during WWII, her family briefly moved from their WV farm to Baltimore to work in factories for the war effort. Talking to some Baltimore teenagers, she mentioned hootenanny, meaning a party with music, dancing and refreshments, (or so it was in WV) and the Baltimore teenagers told her not to say the word, in their city it meant something 'nasty' and sexually explicit. She was so humiliated she sat out the year of school and would not go back until they returned home. Does anyone else know what that meaning may have been? signed aggiebean —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.104.113.198 (talk) 22:21, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

References in Culture

In the Nintendo 64 comment, the added sentence, "It's pretty awesome" is probably inappropriate for Wikipedia -- regardless of the awesomeness. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Straley (talk • contribs) 05:01, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Owls and a Hootenanny?

I hear owls calling to each other often here in MI. I've actually called this sort of a multi-owl calling a "hootenany" - maybe I'm wrong to suggest this? Could this be a possible origin of the term? --68.188.183.91 (talk) 03:25, 21 July 2015 (UTC)

lede, basic meaning

None of the claims in the lede are cited, there or elsewhere. The whole paragraph should be deleted. 67.60.108.191 (talk) 01:23, 24 October 2017 (UTC)

Merger proposal

I propose to merge Hootenanny into Hootenanny (disambiguation), and Placeholder name, and redirect Hootenanny to Placeholder name. Nearly all of the content in the Hootenanny article is just a list of different uses of the word, which is what disambiguation pages are for. Furthermore, similar words such as doohickey, thingamajig, and whatchamacallit do not have their own article. The bit of history on the word can become a part of the Placeholder name article. SqueakySquatter (talk) 04:23, 26 November 2020 (UTC)

It has multiple meanings which require explanation though. It's not simply a synonym for 'doohickey' or whatever. Certainly in the UK, it's considered to be an Americanism for an informal musical party or jam session, and often used in that sense. --Ef80 (talk) 21:46, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

Restructuring is certainly needed; I suggest re-focussing Hootenanny to the music use (a key meaning which doesn't seem to have coverage on other pages), adjust the lede of Hootenanny to reflect its contents (which is not as a placeholder), and move the rest of the relevant content to the DAB. Klbrain (talk) 14:43, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

I agree with Ef80 and Klbrain. The musical meaning is the only one known in UK (and quite possibly outside Appalachia), has enough sources to support an article, and the history is interesting. It is well-known in UK; see Jools' Annual Hootenanny. The Recordings, TV and Other sections are pure DAB material.

If that vote had gone differently, we might be using TrueType Hootenannies. Narky Blert (talk) 06:41, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

Closing, given the consensus to refocus Hootenanny on its primary meaning. Klbrain (talk) 11:24, 28 December 2021 (UTC)