Monger. This is a splendid word, and it's a great shame we so seldom see it by itself.
A monger, of course, is someone who mongs; that is, someone who sells or barters things.
We have cheesemongers, fishmongers and ironmongers (though the ironmongers, strangely, do not sell much iron except in the form of pans and screws and things for collecting the limescale out of kettles).
We also have scandalmongers and newsmongers, who make their wares available to the public just like any other monger, but often out of mischief rather than for money.
A costermonger sells things from a barrow. Coster doesn't mean barrow, though, but apple.
Spot the frippet: monger. This word is from the Old English mangere, and is probably something to do with the Latin word mango, which means trader.
Mango and apples: a fruity post, today!
Have been thrilled to bits with the last few posts on this blog, but this one is extra special. Monger should be a word on its own, I think. "He was a monger of biscuits to Royalty" or some such. A substitute for 'purveyor' which is a bit of a snooty word, I always think. And quite agree about bungalows.
ReplyDelete