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Clive
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280993
Sun, 15 Oct 06 02:24 AM
Hi,
Although it is not Hemingway's meaning, here is a different, more respectable and honourable way of using this term
From http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/people/1900s/kellet_donald_stafford.html
Donald Stafford Kellett was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 15, 1909. He came to the University of Pennsylvania after being a four-letter man at Erasmus High School and a three-letter man at Peekskill Military Academy.
Kellet became one of Penn's most legendary athletes. In his freshman year he was captain of three of his class teams: football, basketball and baseball. By winning three varsity letters each year after his freshman year, Kellett became a nine-letter man. He played halfback in baseball, guard on the basketball team and second baseman and shortstop on the baseball team. In his senior year, he was captain of the varsity baseball team, an All-Intercollegiate basketball player, quarterback of the football team and recipient of the Class of 1915 Alumni Trophy as the outstanding athlete of his class. Kellett was a leader off the playing fields as well; he was a member of the Houston Hall Board of Governors, Sphinx Society, Phi Kappa Beta Society, president of Kappa Sigma fraternity, and winner of the Thayer Scholarship award. He was elected by his class as Bowl Man in his senior year.
Best wishes, Clive
Joined on
Thu, Oct 28 2004
Canada
Veteran Member
29,663
El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo
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Muayad Jajo,
3 yr 42 days ago
I would also use it to refer to a man who is in the habit of swearing too often.
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Grammar Geek
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281032
Sun, 15 Oct 06 04:31 AM
Yes, without the reference that was provided, I would have thought it means an outstanding athlete, as Clive cited. In the U.S. (I don't know about other places) if someone plays sports, you get a "letter." Usually, the first letter of the name of your school, I think - at least, that's what it was at my school. If you say "I lettered in field hockey" it means you played field hockey at the advanced level in high school. Many students played a fall, winter, and then a spring sport, and could get three different letters. (In fact, you got a leter once, and then you got pins for the subsequent sports and years at my school, but other traditions exist, I'm sure.) So if you got four letters, it means you were good at many different types of sports.
So it's possible someone may use this phrase in one context and the reader may take away a completely different meaning than what was intended!!
Joined on
Tue, Jan 10 2006
Veteran Member
19,683
Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!
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Clive
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281034
Sun, 15 Oct 06 04:33 AM
Hi,
I would also use it to refer to a man who is in the habit of swearing too often
If I asked you 'What kind of guy is Tom?' and you replied 'He's a four-letter man", I wouldn't know what you were talking about.
Best wishes, Clive
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Anonymous,
2 yr 343 days ago
Anonymous answer to your question. four  O.E. feower, from P.Gmc. *petwor- (cf. O.S. fiwar, O.Fris. fiuwer, Frank. fitter-, Du. and Ger. vier, O.N. fjorir, Dan. fire, Sw. fyra), from PIE *qwetwor (cf. Skt. catvarah, Avestan cathwaro, Pers. catvar, Gk. tessares, L. quattuor, Oscan petora, O.C.S. cetyre, Lith. keturi, O.Ir. cethir, Welsh petguar).The phonetic evolution of the Gmc. forms has not been fully explained. Fourteen is O.E. feowertyne. Slang four-eyes "person who wears glasses" first recorded 1874. Four-flusher is 1904, from verb four-flush "to bluff a poker hand, claim a flush with only four cards in the suit" (1896). Four-letter word first attested 1934; four-letter man, however, is recorded from 1923 (as a euphemism for a ***). A four-in-hand
(1793) was a carriage with four horses driven by one person; in the
sense of "loosely tied necktie" it is attested from 1892. To study The History of the Four Kings (1760, cf. Fr. Livres des Quatre Rois)
contains euphemistic slang phrase for "a pack of cards" from the time
when card-playing was considered a wicked pastime for students. Slang 4-1-1 is from the telephone number called to get customer information.Anonymous! Don't reply.
Anonymous,
2 yr 295 days ago
I AM READING HEMINGWAY NOW - AND AM STILL UNSURE WHAT A FOUR LETTER MAN MEANS !! ANY HELP?
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Mister Micawber
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323893
Sun, 04 Feb 07 09:09 AM
Take your pick: 1-- How did you and Jackie Robinson first meet? What was your first impression of him?
I was a freshman
at UCLA and he was a senior. He was Big Man on campus, because he was
the first four-letter man at UCLA — that is, he starred in all four
major sports.
2-- four-letter man:A male homosexual , based on the four letters of the word HOMO. I have an idea that Hemingway is speaking of the former. (Egad-- this thread is already well-populated with athletes and gay guys. I thought it was a new thread, sorry.-- MM)
Joined on
Wed, Aug 4 2004
Yokohama
Veteran Member
30,825
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'
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Anonymous,
95 days ago
From memory, Hemingway also uses the phrase Four Letter Man in The Sun Also Rises to either refer to himself, or one of the main protagonists, where it would not fit with meaning 'homo'. Can't quite remember which!
The words that would fit more in that context (in escalating order) would be , *** or ***! I always assumed the latter!
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