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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Cummerbund is a word that is asking for it. Variations: (1) Cumberbuns, (2) cumber bun or cumber-bun, (3) cumberbum, (4) cummerbum, (5) cummerbung, (6) cumber bum. Most of these seem genuine, though (1) and (3) may be sly reworkings.
(1) “Problem Pee’er Cumberbuns (PPCumberbuns) For the male dog who thinks your furniture is a fire hydrant.” http://nu-nee.tripod.com/ppcumber.htm
(2) “His tux will have to be shipped in over night. The guy is down to cumber bun color when I remember some retained bit of trivia. Cumber buns are O.U.T. Only a fool would wear a cumber bun. A real man wears a vest.” http://nancybartholomew.blogspot.com/20 … tones.html
(2) again “i want to wear a katana in my wedding [...] but how should it be done? stick it in the cumber-bun or maybe wear a baldric? better yet.. an obi instead of a cumber-bun.” http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt … p?t=550456
(3) “cumberbum : That thing that looks like a garder for guys when they wear a tux.”
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p … =cumberbum
(4) “The front band (cummerbum) is up and on baby, this supports them and helps avoid sagging. Make sure it covers from bottom to neck, so baby can’t push back from you.” http://www.slingbabies.co.nz/Site/Instr … Carry.ashx
(5) “Get a Neil Pryde impact vest harness Dave, the vest has a cummerbung to keep your guts in place so you don’t get a hernia out windsurfing.” http://www.seabreeze.com.au/Forums/topi … &mxPages=2
(6) “Third Job: Hostess at Taste of Texas. This was a very established, very organized nice restaurant, and I worked with several friends every Saturday and Tuesday night. Unfortunately, we had to wear a cumber bum, bow tie, and hose. This definitely was the worst uniform I ever had to wear. ” http://big-whoop.blogspot.com/2007/07/h … -jobs.html
(6) again “We can coordinate your dates cumber bum and tie with your dress. This adds that little bit of finesse to your presentation for the evening.” http://www.baltimoredress.com/lilys-bridal.htm
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I always thought it was (and hence pronounced it as) cumberbund. I suppose in the back of my mind I believed “cumber” was related to encumbered and “bund” was a variant of bound (or perhaps of the German bund, which means federation or union, a word of which I had some vague knowledge from history). So I thought it encumbered and “bound” the middle of the person wearing it. In that case, my misunderstanding makes a compelling case for it being an eggcorn.
In any case, it’s an odd word, used almost exclusively by most people in relation to a very specific event, wearing a tux for a wedding. It’s not surprising to find so many variations on it on the Internet.
Feeling quite combobulated.
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I was surprised to learn that the word comes from Urdu and Persian kamar band “loin band” (not that I had any clear sense of where it came from, but like Jon I thought it sounded vaguely German or Old English).
The OED gives a raft of alternate spellings.
Forms: 7 combar-, commer-, 8 cumber-, 8-9 cummerband, 9 cummer-, kummerbund.
Last edited by nilep (2009-02-06 14:09:33)
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First, priority recognition to Doug Snacks for a cumberbund post in 2007.
Then these new variations, which rationalize the opaque “cummer” by alluding to its role as a “cover”.
concert report
Got there a bit late, got instrument out and then got my coverbund (sp?) and tie for concert. Put the coverbund on for Jazz Band, left off the tie.
Baby clothes
The baby tux comes in a package for $35: you get a jacket, pants, bow tie, and coverbun. The coverbun is held in place by small hooks, that way the jacket stays close to the body and the coverbun doesn’t ride up to their neck.
Video game cosplay armour
Well a nice cheaper way to make the coverbun that worked pretty well is what I did for my Altair; A sheet of 1-inch thick foam covered in pleather [...] Forcebewitya, how much did it cost you to make your coverbun?
Wedding shop review
The tuxedos looked fine at this shop. I went with him to look at ties and at vests and coverbuns, and the other options for making the suit look more colorful.
Last edited by David Bird (2010-03-19 15:40:09)
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Only it covers the wrong part of the anatomy.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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Only it covers the wrong part of the anatomy.
Perhaps these folks are taking the idiom “ass-backwards” too literaly.
Last edited by kem (2010-03-19 17:35:01)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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That’s a problem for the tux’s accessory but not for the armour, I don’t think. The cummerbund covers the waist band of suit pants, so it should logically be a coverband, of which there are a few sartorial hits out there, amongst the Nirvana tribute bands. The “bun” references could refer to the layering of the cloth, as in a hair bun, or else be an example of the general anatomical displacement or misdirection that produced the “brassière” and “soutien-gorge”.
Congratulations, Kem! 1K!
Last edited by David Bird (2010-03-19 17:54:17)
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And what a post to hit 1K with. Like crossing the Jordan with a golden calf instead of the ark.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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Welcome to the promised land. (Though actually, so far it looks a good bit like the other side. Good companions in either case.)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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