Kevin Curran wrote a comment on the previous nickname story that shouldn't be buried in the comments, since it also focuses on a story of Phil working at his Dad's shop (Paramount Plastics) that I had never heard before...
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You're one step ahead of me, as always. I was thinking of the Pizza Truck heist and you prodded me for an account of it. Last week I thought of nicknames and blammo, you put together an account whose facts I can’t dispute but I can add something in the way of detail.
I inadvertently christened Jerry with Hobart when during a long overdue clean up of the Humboldt St house he donned a shoe string as a head band to keep his long hair from his eyes. I observed that he looked like he was "headed to the Hobart Dump" and Phil immediately pounced on it and "he shall be known as Hobart", soon shortened to Bart.
I don't remember the source of Root but I believe Pomeroy derived from Phil's experience of an African American employee in his dad's shop. Apparently some co-workers would order this fellow around with "Boy, bring me a whatsit" or "Boy, I need a hand over here" to which he always responded with "My name's not Roy" This killed Phil and whenever anyone used "boy" in an expression, as in, "boy, I'm thirsty" or "boy, are we in for it!" Phil, would respond with "my name's not Roy" I would say yes it is, it's short for Pomeroy" and it stuck.
A nickname stuck in those days whenever the recipient blanched or winced at the moment of christening. No wince, no nickname.
After I had saddled the boys with Pomeroy and Hobart they set about assigning me with a revolting moniker. They tried to slap me with a half dozen or so without luck until they conspired to name me for the ventriloquist dummy Mortimer Snerd. They had successfully made me blanch with Ackley from “Catcher in the Rye” but it required too much explanation for a nickname and they gave up on it, to my relief. See, for us, a real nickname had to have a backstory based in mockery but could seem to all outside of our circle to be a term of affection, Ackley couldn’t do that so the boys moved on to the more conventional Mort.
Kevin Curran
September 17, 2007
NYC
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