pumpkin lily n. an effete or unskilled person; a novice. Also punkin lily. Editorial Note: Nearly all discovered uses this term, including the 1922 and 1958 citations below, come from descriptions of Teddy Roosevelt, then aged 25, at the time of his 1883 visit to the Dakota Badlands, where he was perceived as a dude ‘an effete or refined man; a city person.’ Etymological Note: Possibly related to a variety of similar terms with similar meanings given by DARE and HDAS, including punkin ‘a (country) bumpkin; a rustic’; pumpkin roller ‘a rustic; a greenhorn’; pumpkin head ‘a foolish or stupid person’; lily ‘an effeminate boy or homosexual man; a naive or innocent person.’ (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
To noodle meaning “to think on” is so-named because it from noddle, an old word for “head,” and not because a brain looks like a clump of pasta noodles. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “To Noodle with Your Noddle” Hi there. You...
English spelling is a hot mess, even for native speakers. But as a new book shows, would-be spelling reformers, including Benjamin Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt, eventually just gave up. Also, what do you call your fellow parent in front of the...