I happened across a book which called itself the "best-selling vocabulary book". It was supposed to be used to study words for the SATs. I was stunned. Not only had I heard of every single word in the book, but they were all very easy words. Now, granted, I have picked out some of the most easy, but here is a sample:
battery
egg (my personal favorite!)
diverse
impair
frank
What is happening to our educational system?

I went to a store the other day. My bill was $8.64. The cashier couldn't make change for a $10.00 bill without using a calculator. I was stunned!

I set an examination once for Travel Agents where one of the questions asked them to calculate earnings on a fare, commissionable at 10%.

One candidate complained that she was unable to do the calculation since there was no percentage key on her calculator!

By the way, what are SATs?

Richard English

SATs are standardized tests taking by high school students in order to gauge how badly the US educational system has failed them (and they, in return, it) so as to inadequately prepare them for college.

And by the way, what's an egg??

Well, Richard, I must say that CJ is being a titch negative in his explanation of SATs. SATs are Scholastic Assessment Tests used in the U.S. as college entrance exams. Sorry, I thought they had them in England, too.

BTW, I use the word titch all the time--to mean very small. I couldn't find it in dictionary.com, though I did find it in an English slang dictionary which defined titchy, as "tiny" and titch as: "[noun]a small person, esp. a child". News to me.

CJ, I have no idea what an egg is.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
BTW, I use the word _titch_ all the time--to mean very small. I couldn't find it in dictionary.com, though I did find it in an English slang dictionary which defined _titchy_, as "tiny" and _titch_ as: "[noun]a small person, esp. a child". News to me.

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Titch and titchy in the senses you describe are very common slang terms in the UK . So common that I'm not sure they qualify as slang at all.

Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur

Read all about my travels around the world here.

So, Bob, does "titch" mean "small child" and "titchy" mean "tiny". For years I have always used "titch" to mean "tiny bit"; for example, "add a titch of salt" or as in the above post--"CJ is a titch negative". According to the dictionary, that is completely wrong.

Titchy generally means small. It's quite common and is sometimes (redundantly) followed by "little.

e.g. That's a titchy little car you've got.

Titch means a person who is small. It isn't a deadly insult but it is quite derogatory. You probably wouldn't win any diminutive friends by calling them "titch".
The words are a bit childish in their usage but "titch" doesn't refer especially to children. It's a mildly insulting term for anyone who is small.

Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur

Read all about my travels around the world here.

Kalleh, I freely admit to being far more than a titch negative but it's not about the SATs so much as the overall education system. I know college graduates who would need special tutoring just to get back into high school much less converse or write on anything even remotely resembling what I would consider an adult level. I'm sure every member of this board could supply at least a half dozen stories regarding (Tsk! Tsk!) today's youth and the declining educational levels of same but what do you say we all save ourselves the headache and not post them here.


Great punchline for a joke that has yet to be written:

"Titch you? I shouldn't even be doing this!!"

You can't be "...a titch negative..." - that's like saying that you're "...a small negative...".

You could be a titchy bit negative, meaning "...a little bit negative..."

Richard English

I have been using titch wrong all these years! Thanks, also, Bob for letting me know that calling someone a titch is an insult because that British slang site certainly didn't say that.

CJ, I have taught college kids. Believe me, I understand. Yet, I must say that all my students knew what egg or to egg somebody on means.

Reviving a 13-year-old thread!

It has been a little while since we've discussed "titch," but I have a funny story. As you see above, I have been using "titch" wrong for a number of years. Well, it must run in the family. My sister, also a nurse, asked her patient to "move over just a titch..." He said, "'Titch' isn't even a word!" Realizing she must have been using it wrong too, she quickly retorted, "It's a medical term." He said, "Oh, okay."

"Titch" and "titchy" come from the stage-name of a music hall (vaudeville) performer from the late 1800s and early 1900s, Little Titch (or Tich). That explains the redundancy mentioned by Bob above. See his Wikipedia page.

QI once showed some old film of him and Steven Fry described him as a sort of precursor to Charlie Chaplin. The panel were distinctly unimpressed with what they saw and couldn't understand why he was so popular at the time. There are several videos on YouTube, so you can make up your own mind.

From Bob's comment (back in November of 2002!) it is an insult to call someone a "titch," which makes sense. We use it more as: how far to move.

Referring to a short person's (lack of) height is usually insulting anyway. It's only mildly so, anyway, and can be used affectionately.