One of Dickens' happiest creations is Mr. Boffin, called “The Golden Dustman” because he inherited from his greedy old employer a fortune in the dust business.
That is MY favorite work of Dickens, too! I was quite puzzled by the term 'dust' when I first read it in my college days. Thank you for the etymology lesson. Fascinating!
Boffin, as I understand it, was or is, a British word for someone brainy like Barnes Wallis who devised the bombs for Operation Chastise to destroy various Ruhr region dams. I've also read of someone really brainy being referred to as a King Boffin. Was unaware that Dickens used it as someone's name.
That is MY favorite work of Dickens, too! I was quite puzzled by the term 'dust' when I first read it in my college days. Thank you for the etymology lesson. Fascinating!
Boffin, as I understand it, was or is, a British word for someone brainy like Barnes Wallis who devised the bombs for Operation Chastise to destroy various Ruhr region dams. I've also read of someone really brainy being referred to as a King Boffin. Was unaware that Dickens used it as someone's name.
Great writing. Gives an entire new paradigm to the word dust.
Don't wait to long for the piece later mentioned about eternal salvation.
Blessings
https://awakegloriousbride.com/2023/01/06/awake-glorious-bride-and-shake-off-the-dust-part-one/
Lily Munster, of happy memory.🥰
I’ve come to love Mondays when I get the word for the week! Thank you. Remembering I am dust…..