Talk:motherless

RFV discussion: March–April 2017

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motherless

Rfv-sense "Without care, wisdom, or admonition". Two examples are given, both of which produce zero hits on BGC. I think I've also heard this used as a synonym to unmotherly, but finding citations for that has proved equally difficult. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 06:01, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

I haven't found anything that meets the "without care" definition, or even "unmotherly", but I did find two things that don't exactly mean without a mother:

More like without history or input from others.... Kiwima (talk) 06:27, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

That's an interesting figurative sense that is not captured in the OED. The OED does record motherless (adj. and adv.) as an intensifier used in Australian and South African slang (e.g., "the motherless drunk" = extremely drunk person; "stoned motherless" = completely stoned). Also, there is a rare sense "of a liquid: free from scum or sediment", probably from mother (“substance in fermenting alcoholic liquids”). — SMUconlaw (talk) 12:39, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

I can find another citation which I think is in the same metaphorish vein as the Peirce one,

• 2015, Peter Meehan, Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes →ISBN, page 192:

  So in an inclusive act of recognition, here's our goopy take on this motherless dish—a mash-up of all your food-court chickens, be they sweet 'n' sour, sesame[.]

I can also find citations of the "without mother [substance in fermenting alcohol]" sense, which I added to the page. I haven't found citations of a general "free from scum" sense, or the RFVed sense.

- -sche (discuss) 00:50, 12 March 2017 (UTC)

If the meaning is correct, it could have originated as without mother wit... AnonMoos (talk) 23:11, 26 March 2017 (UTC)

• RFV failed, but I have added 2 more senses based on the evidence accumulated here. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 01:19, 12 April 2017 (UTC)