What's the etymology of "gully"?

December 4, 2005 5:59 PM

What's the etymology of "gully" (as in "street", "badass")? Thanks.
posted by matteo to writing & language (11 comments total)

I mean, it can't possibly come from "gullet", right? if the answer's too obvious and it escaped me anyway, please forgive my un-gully, foreigner ass.
posted by matteo at 6:02 PM on December 4, 2005

"I'm from the gutter, baby - I'm so damn street."
posted by Smart Dalek at 6:06 PM on December 4, 2005

Main Entry:1gullly
Pronunciation:*g*-l*, *g*-
Function:noun
Inflected Form:plural gullies
Etymology:short for English dialect gully knife
Date:1582

dialect British : a large knife


Main Entry:2gullly
Variant:also gullley \*g*-l*\
Function:noun
Inflected Form:plural gullies
Etymology:obsolete English gully gullet, probably alteration of Middle English golet ravine, throat
Date:1637

Looks like it went gully ---> throat --> gully knife (a good, big knife to slash throats with) --> your meaning.

This is from Webster's 11th.
posted by interrobang at 6:21 PM on December 4, 2005

Gully is a common synonym for gutter. That would seem to have a connection to "street."
posted by winston at 7:28 PM on December 4, 2005

* The gully in the street has the lid missing or damaged. Who do I contact?
* The gully in the street is blocked/smells. It is dangerous. Who do I report it to?

Definitely a UK synonym for "gutter".
posted by dhartung at 8:04 PM on December 4, 2005

Etymology:obsolete English gully gullet, probably alteration of Middle English golet ravine, throat

Really? Gulli is Hindi for alley, so I thought it came long the pyjamas/thug route from India.
posted by metaculpa at 8:18 PM on December 4, 2005

Your question unclear. Do you mean "street" n. as in "a road or thoroughfare (especially in a town)" or do you mean "street" adj. "savvy to underground, criminal, or other subcultures"?

In any case, if you mean the adjective, note that Jonathon Green's "Cassell's Dictionary of Slang" (first edition) offers:

As two of the meanings of gully-raker "a man having sexual intercourse" and "a womanizer," a gully being slang for the female pudenda.

Under "gully" v. "to trick, to fool," related to "gull" v. "to deceive, to fool" and connects it to "gull," "a fledgling" and suggests the image of a young bird with mouth open offering whatever is given.

The "gullet/gully" knife above also makes sense as a source or reinforcer of any idea of "badass," noun or adjective.
posted by Mo Nickels at 10:26 PM on December 4, 2005

How about gully, as in ravine, being used instead of canyon, to describe city streets between high buildings?
posted by Goofyy at 2:16 AM on December 5, 2005

Mo Nickels - in Hip-hop culture, street can mean "inferior", "real", "intense", or even "luxurious", depending on tone and context. It's not unlike the extra connotation ascribed to "literally".
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:28 AM on December 5, 2005

i vote for "from the gully"
posted by suni at 3:23 AM on December 5, 2005

Yes, I'm aware of that, Smart Dalek, but Matteo said nothing about hip-hop. In the fourth volume of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang we will have quite a large entry on "street."
posted by Mo Nickels at 10:15 AM on December 5, 2005