Tub-thumping appears to be a compound of 2 elements that are in it for a reason. Does anybody know what that reason is? Thanks.
Robert said
Tub-thumping appears to be a compound of 2 elements that are in it for a reason. Does anybody know what that reason is? Thanks.
Robert,
Can you put the compound in context and give us a meaning?
Thanks,
Emmett
It surely comes from bluegrass music, doesn't it? Hill folk didn't have access to a wide variety of musical instruments, so they would play washboards, use tin piepans as cymbals, and instead of bass drums, they'd be tub-thumping. And they'd drink their shine and thump the table in recognition of how powerful it was.
Of course, political rallies were a source of entertainment, and sometimes, a "musician" would use tub-thumping to punctuate forceful statements.
When evangelists came around, they tended to thump on the bible instead of a washtub, and the flock would punctuate forceful statements with cries of "Amen, brother!"
A rabbit thumps when he perceives danger. That fits with preachers and politicians, I suppose, but hillbilly musicians aren'y much danger except to girls who seek it.
I could not find what I considered an adequate origin story of this word, but being that the definition is someone who expresses their opinions loudly, I presume that many could not get the attention they wanted with their voice and resorted to banging on things like tubs to get even more attention.
Thanks. Usage: English author Martin Amis writes this of Adolf Hitler in his current book:
... the mystery, the why, is divisible: first, the Austrian artist manqué turned tub-thumper, second, the German—and Austrian—instruments he carried with him.
'Tub' must have some association with the pulpit, or is another word for it.