Talk:gimp

“GIMP” as an acronym carrying positive connotations
Our nephew who has just completed his SATS with a result that puts him in the top 2% of candidates has been descirbed as a "GIMP". His friends describe this as being "like a walking encylopedia" - when looking up the definiton of "GIMP" we found no such positive reference. Please comment. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 192.68.151.188 (talk • contribs) 23:29, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Perhaps his friends were just being kind to him, or perhaps the slang meaning has mutated locally, but certainly in Liverpool (UK) the term thus used would have very negative connotations, and would be an insult.   D b f  i  r  s   18:41, 19 February 2008 (UTC)


 * We would welcome your help if determining what it was an acronym for. The language does keep changing and teens are at the forefront of invention. If we can find confirmation for your nephews' friends' usage we would be happy to put it in Wiktionary. Did GIMP come us in a text message of some kind? Is your nephew evasive about what it means? Maybe you don't really want to know. DCDuring TALK 18:49, 19 February 2008 (UTC)


 * "Walking encylopedia" sounds derogatory, not positive. I imagine they meant something like swot. Equinox ◑ 17:31, 3 May 2020 (UTC)

gimp
Just overhauled this article. Looking for verification of a number of things: -Noun sense #6: (derogatory) A contemptible and dull person with very poor social skills. Does this general insult sense truly exist as an extension, or are gimp insults limited to a sense of being crippled? Cites?
 * I've heard it often as a general insult, implying ineptitude, introspectiveness; I've even got a (poor) citation; http://torrentfreak.com/video-how-people-are-tracked-using-bittorrent-080114/ "Anyone that thinks otherwise is a complete Gimp and commonly known as a gullible plonker!"

-Verb sense #2: To notch; to indent; to jag.
 * There is also a gimping machine for making gimp. "Gimping" seems to have something to do with reinforcing or wrapping with wire. I ahve seen gimped in a botanical context having to do with leaves (notches?, indentations?, jaggedness?). DCDuring TALK 18:39, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

-Scottish senses pronounced dʒɪmp. Looking for cites.

-The plural given as "gimp or gimps". Not seeing a case where gimp is an unmodified plural. -- Thisis0 01:42, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
 * so, i think I addressed the plural issue... I think this might have been referring to the "cord, trim" sense, and rather than "plural gimp", this is called "uncountable". Moved and fixed.  (If anyone sees any reason to keep the "cripple" sense as "plural gimp or gimps", make it known.) -- Thisis0 17:48, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

gimp
A number of senses. This entry was previously rfv'd but did not acquire the requisite cites. One sense has two cites and the rest have none. The editor has asked for an extension and this is that extension. -Atelaes λάλει ἐμοί 03:45, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Is this better classified at Level 2 as Scots? DCDuring TALK 14:07, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Given the lack of any clear division between Scots, "Scottish English", and the northern dialects, that's a seriously messy can of worms that I for one would prefer to leave unopened. But yes, probably. -- Visviva 12:12, 11 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Gold star to anyone who can show any use at all for the uncited senses. -- Visviva 12:12, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
 * You mean only etymology #3, don't you? Many of the others are cited even in other dictionaries. Hekaheka 16:43, 11 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, that's what I meant to mean. :-)  -- Visviva 15:18, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
 * And the "notch, indent, jag" sense (Etym 2) -- Thisis0 09:41, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

OK, all cited. -- Thisis0 21:14, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
 * The tagged senses have been cited or removed. Passed. Striking.&mdash;msh210 &#x2120; 17:17, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Requests for verification - kept
Kept. See archived discussion of April 2008. 05:00, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Archaic sense?
I recall reading in an dictionary once, that there was an archaic definition of gimp, which effectively meant, “a person always poised in readiness”. I believe it was related to the Scottish origin, perhaps of a tailor with tools like an awl and thread for repair.

Heavier outline thread in lace
In lace, gimp is a thread (or sometimes multiple thin threads used as one thread, for the same effect) which is heavier than the rest of the threads in a piece of lace, usually used for outlining.

""Guipure " is a French word, which was first used to indicate a lace the figures of which were emphasized by an outline of "gimp," a coarser thread or fine cord." -Pillow lace, a practical handbook; Elizabeth Mincoff & Margaret S. Marriage; 1907

"A gimp is a thicker thread than the rest of the threads. It is used to outline patterns." Jo Edkins, 2014

--Darklyndsea (talk) 13:04, 19 February 2021 (UTC)

Thorne's slang dictionary has "a sexually promiscuous male"
...but I wonder if it's just a misunderstanding of the S&M submissive sense. Equinox ◑ 17:47, 8 April 2023 (UTC)