# Trump (= fart)



## Loob

I have just returned from my first visit to my new great-nephew in Derbyshire. Where I was unutterably delighted, not by the fact that Great-Nephew frequently breaks wind, but by the fact that his mother and father both call this activity "trumping".

I grew up using "trump" instead of "fart" (both noun and verb), a fact which I had attributed to my Welsh parentage; I'd never heard anyone outside the immediate family using it. Now my nephew's wife tells me it's the usual term in Derbyshire, and I find it in the OED with no regional attribution - verb:





> *b.* To give forth a trumpet-like sound; _spec._ to break wind audibly (_slang_ or _vulgar_).


noun:





> *e.* _slang_ or _vulgar_. The act of breaking wind audibly.


 
So, my question is:

Is _trump = fart_ in general use in (1) BrE (2) other varieties of English?





_Yes, this *is* a serious, academic question_


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## sdgraham

It's a new one for me. It must raise a lot of eyebrows in bridge circles where it is known.


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## Imber Ranae

I've never heard of it either.


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## mancunienne girl

"trumping" is common usage in the North of England....


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## spatula

I do it all the time.  Use the word _trump_ that is.


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## se16teddy

Yes, 1 Corinthians 15:52 always raised a bit of a snigger at my school in Yorkshire. 
http://kingjbible.com/1_corinthians/15.htm


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## mancunienne girl

I always quite enjoyed the song "Nelly the Elephant" when I was a child, for similar reasons.http://bussongs.com/songs/nellie_the_elephant.php


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## ewie

mancunienne girl said:


> "trumping" is common usage in the North of England....


I never refer to pumping in any other way, Mrs.Serious-Academic-Loob.

(The name 'Ivana Trump' always sets me off trumping  laughing: _I vanna trump_.  Serious academic point.)


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## Kevin Beach

I'd like to say that we don't do that sort of thing in the circles in which I move.

But it wouldn't be true, so, yes, "trump" is not unknown.


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## cuchuflete

"Over here, on the left bank of the puddle, we don't use it," he tooted airily.


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## Loob

You have no idea, mancunienne girl, spatula, teddy, ewie, KB, how grateful I am to know that I AM NOT ALONE. All my life, I thought I was an oddity; now I know that I'm just a Somerset-born-&-bred _northerner._

I wish you, forever, the wind beneath your wings....


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## sdgraham

Loob said:


> I wish you, forever, the wind beneath your wings....



Is that, by chance, another Northerner term for the same thing?


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## mancunienne girl

Yes, there is also another popular term in the northern part of England. Many males refer to said action as a "trouser cough".......


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## ewie

mancunienne girl said:


> Many males refer to said action as a "trouser cough".......


 Oh I've _never_ heard that, MancGirl ~ I ♥ it: that's one to be noted, cherished, adored, cherished, remembered, and repeated rolleyes ad nauseam at all the high-tone Mancunian garden parties one is invited to.


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## Ann O'Rack

Trump is one of those raucous, noisy, farts of joy.

I occasionally "puff" (at work, one doesn't want to announce too loudly the source of the noxious fumes) and have been known to let out the occasional "toot" or "parp", and kids do a "bottom-burp", but an honest-to-goodness trump is a true delight, when one can let rip with both cheeks vibrating, preferably (if you're my son) in the face of one's mother. Yuck.


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## ewie

Perhaps just the _littlest_ bit too much detail there, Anno


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## bluegiraffe

Hi guys, I have a question for US based forumees.  Whilst watching The Apprentice USA last night, my other half couldn't believe that Donald Trump has never changed his name.  I wondered if maybe trump doesn't have the same connotations in AE as it does in BrE?  A trump in BrE being "the passing of wind".


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## Bevj

Heh I have never heard of that usage of the word 'trump'!
I always associated it with superiority or winning.   (e.g. playing a trump card).


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## bluegiraffe

Really??  Whereabouts in the UK are you from?  I'm  now wondering if it's regional?


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## cuchuflete

Trump has more than one AE meaning, but windbreaking isn't among them.

Are you sure you didn't trump this up?


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## bluegiraffe

Nope! It is a polite way of saying the word, used by children and also some of us polite adults who don't like the "f" word and who are too common to say "break wind"!


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## shawnee

Bevj said:


> Heh I have never heard of that usage of the word 'trump'!
> I always associated it with superiority or winning.   (e.g. playing a trump card).



Same here.


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## bluegiraffe

OK so the US and Australia are out.  How about Canada, NZ, Ireland and other regions of the UK, I'm fascinated now!


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## Kevin Beach

"Trump" is surely the old-fashioned word for "trumpet", borrowed to describe the anatomical sound in question. There have even been those skilful enough to make a living of sorts from their ability to vary their ...... anal embrouchure, I suppose...... so as to play tunes. A sort of tonic solfart.


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## cuchuflete

Kevin Beach said:


> "Trump" is surely the old-fashioned word for "trumpet", borrowed to describe the anatomical sound in question. There have even been those skilful enough to make a living of sorts from their ability to vary their ...... anal embrouchure, I suppose...... so as to play tunes. A sort of tonic solfart. _sonic hole-art._


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## marquess

New one on me (Bristol, UK), but I guess I might get it in context by association with 'Trumpet'.


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## Kevin Beach

I suppose it gices a wholly new meaning to "the last trump", which is said to be what will call all before the heavenly throne at the end of all things. So the universe not only started with a big bang but will end with one too.


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## Bevj

Well I'm interested enough to have searched for synonyms of 'trump' and nowhere have I found a reference to a fart.....
Can anyone provide a link?


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## bluegiraffe

Urban Dictionary says:

1. trump *144* up, *48* down



get this on a mug 
	
 or greeting card
Northern to midlands slang for a fart, expelling of wind from the anus.
Oi who trumped? 
Urrgh yuck the dogs gone and trumped again.


It must be regional!  Where's Soundshift to back me up?


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## GreenWhiteBlue

Incidentally, while Donald Trump never changed his name, Donald's grandfather did change his own name.  After arriving in the US from Germany, the man who was born as _Friedrich Drumpf_ changed his name to the similar-sounding, but less odd (in English) "_Frederick Trump_."


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## out2lnch

bluegiraffe said:


> OK so the US and Australia are out. How about Canada, NZ, Ireland and other regions of the UK, I'm fascinated now!


 
Sorry, I've never heard it either. It is funny, though, how oddly appropriate his name is with this meaning . . .


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## Bevj

bluegiraffe said:


> Urban Dictionary says:
> 
> 1. trump *144* up, *48* down
> 
> 
> 
> get this on a mug
> 
> or greeting card
> Northern to midlands slang for a fart, expelling of wind from the anus.
> Oi who trumped?
> Urrgh yuck the dogs gone and trumped again.
> 
> 
> It must be regional!  Where's Soundshift to back me up?



Well!
And I'm a Midlander, too.....

Thanks for the info!


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## panjandrum

Trump=fart is not known naturally in this part of the world, but I have come across it as an import from the north-east of England - York in particular.


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## lablady

Trump = fart is not known in my part of the world either, but I think I would understand it in context.

I guess the take-away lesson from this is that "The Donald" would be well-advised to not take up residence in certain regions.


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## ewie

*Moderator doodah: Thread merged with previous one on same subject.*

As I said in post #9 above, I always find the former Mrs.Trump's name _particularly_ amusing.


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## owlman5

bluegiraffe said:


> Hi guys, I have a question for US based forumees.  Whilst watching The Apprentice USA last night, my other half couldn't believe that Donald Trump has never changed his name.  I wondered if maybe trump doesn't have the same connotations in AE as it does in BrE?  A trump in BrE being "the passing of wind".


I'd sure never heard it before in my neck of the woods.  Now that I have, I'll likely sneak it in the next time such a topic is up for discussion.  My great favorite, however, is "trouser cough".  Thank you, forum members.


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## Aaar

I have to say, again, I always thought this was the reason _Nellie the Elephant_ was such a funny/popular song.


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## pickarooney

I've used it, though it would probably be categorised as a Britishism. I prefer _bum-trumpet _myself.


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## bluegiraffe

ewie said:


> *Moderator doodah: Thread merged with previous one on same subject.*
> 
> As I said in post #9 above, I always find the former Mrs.Trump's name _particularly_ amusing.


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## LAHs

Yep, it's the word for fart. Always used in Birmingham England when I was growing up. So there you are, you can add the Midlands to its geographical usage.
Anyone from the South of England use it?
I would find a President Trump hilarious (in more ways than one).


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## Alan Brock

LAHs said:


> Yep, it's the word for fart. Always used in Birmingham England when I was growing up. So there you are, you can add the Midlands to its geographical usage.
> Anyone from the South of England use it?
> I would find a President Trump hilarious (in more ways than one).


I was born in Ruislip in 1955. My mother was from Surbiton. She used the term interchangeably with purp, depending upon the decibel level of the incident.


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## Copperknickers

Never heard the word 'trump' used in this way, to give a Scottish angle.


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## PaulQ

Loob said:


> Now my nephew's wife tells me it's the usual term in Derbyshire,


Speaking as Cultural Attaché for Derbyshire (where's the Consul, Sound Shift, when you want him?) I confirm *trump *is the correct word to use in the city and county.


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## sound shift

PaulQ said:


> Speaking as Cultural Attaché for Derbyshire (where's the Consul, Sound Shift, when you want him?) I confirm *trump *is the correct word to use in the city and county.


I'm here now, dear Cultural Attaché. A chap has to be allowed a little time away from the forum to attend to a call of nature, don't you think? I only came across this meaning of "trump" a couple of years ago, from some of the local kids. When I was one of the 'local kids' around here, I never heard the term. We said "boffing" and "brewing" instead.


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## PaulQ

So Mr Shift Senior used to say "Mother, see to that scion of my loins, young Sound. He is spending greater part of the day boffing and brewing."?


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## sound shift

Mr Shift Senior was ignorant of such matters: He came from the south-eastern corner of the country (and after all this time in Derbyshire his attempts at the local accent remain, frankly, risible).

The children who taught me the meaning of "trump" are the same local children who a couple of years ago were hooked on a "trading card" game called "Top Trumps" which, appropriately, featured Wayne Rooney (among others). I can only assume that the brains behind the game had never been to Derbyshire.


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## PaulQ

sound shift said:


> I can only assume that the brains behind the game had never been to Derbyshire.


"Nellie the Elephant" was the song that was sung at school when I was about 6 or 7 as that meant you could get away with saying "rude words":

The lyrics: http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/n110.html

"Nellie the Elephant packed her trunk
And trundled back to the jungle
Off she went with a trumpety-trump
Trump, trump, trump"


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## sound shift

Yes, I remember that one. No one sniggered. In fact no one as much as raised an eyebrow in our house. None of us knew that the words were "naughty".


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## Szkot

The word was used by Caroline Aherne in her series Mrs Merton (BBC, 1990s) - she was playing someone from the Manchester area - and this may have brought it to a wider UK audience.  I don't think I had heard it before, even in 1960s Liverpool.


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## ewie

(I don't think I've heard it called _boffing_ since 1978-ish, Your Worshipful Consularity)


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## sound shift

Well, I hope it brought back fond memories, E. Were you North-Western boys and girls amused by the name of that BBC kids' programme, 'Trumpton', by any chance?


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## TomHart

LAHs said:


> Anyone from the South of England use it?



No.

Having grown up in Devon and Sussex, it took me a while to understand why Yorkshire relatives and friends found Trump's name so hilarious.

Beyond referring to the best suit in a game of cards, it means nothing to someone from the south of England.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

I have come across "ass-trumpet" for butt thunder. I wonder if people are starting to say, after hearing (or getting a whiff of) an anal sneeze nearby, "Hey, who Donalded?" (a "Donald" - a noxious emission of hot air from the nether regions)? Gives new meaning to 'the (a**)hole in the ozone layer'.


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## ewie

sound shift said:


> Well, I hope it brought back fond memories, E.


Not _especially_ fond, but it was nice to be reminded of it


sound shift said:


> Were you North-Western boys and girls amused by the name of that BBC kids' programme, 'Trumpton', by any chance?


I can't remember what happened the day before yesterday, Mr S


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## suzi br

Yes we thought Trumpton was a funny name in our house (Midlands based). 
We could not play the card game with "trumps" for laughing when we were kids ... 

Seems a great name for an idiot like Donald in the current political context.


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## yellerbelly

I grew up in Lincolnshire and have since traced my family back to the 1600's in that county and before passing the 11 plus I spoke quite a different language, it was the normal way of speaking to our family and neighbours but that way of talking had to be educated out of me!!  I bet most people would not understand my grandparents' generation these days duck but they 'trumped'!  But they never 'trumped' down in Surrey when I lived there, if they ever admitted to it they 'let wind'!  I had an interesting time at university in New Zealand looking up the roots of swear words to discover that the ones I used that were not bad language in Lincolnshire had Old English roots whereas the ones that I thought were really naughty were words with French origins like 'pissoir'.  Must have been something to do with the Norman conquest and the Anglo Saxons hanging on to all they had left - their language!


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## rwza01

yellerbelly said:


> I grew up in Lincolnshire and have since traced my family back to the 1600's in that county and before passing the 11 plus I spoke quite a different language, it was the normal way of speaking to our family and neighbours but that way of talking had to be educated out of me!!  I bet most people would not understand my grandparents' generation these days duck but they 'trumped'!  But they never 'trumped' down in Surrey when I lived there, if they ever admitted to it they 'let wind'!  I had an interesting time at university in New Zealand looking up the roots of swear words to discover that the ones I used that were not bad language in Lincolnshire had Old English roots whereas the ones that I thought were really naughty were words with French origins like 'pissoir'.  Must have been something to do with the Norman conquest and the Anglo Saxons hanging on to all they had left - their language!



Long time since I heard yellerbelly (or "yellow belly" as I thought it was). Means somebody from Lincs, in case people don't know.

I grew up in Lincolnshire and then in Norfolk (where you say "dumpling" to indicate somebody from there) and I certainly used trump all the time to mean fart. I remember also as a kid, before trumping, being required to say "taxi barrrppphhh" and pulling down my hand like a lorry (that's British English for truck) driver sounding his air horn. If you didn't, you'd get "bundled" - the other kids would jump on you and you'd get squashed at the bottom of a pile.

I'm also pretty sure that even native British English speakers, other than those from the area,  would struggle to understand my grandfather's Lincs dialect. I had no problem understanding but I wouldn't be able to speak it - I'd recognise the meaning of the words that he used but wouldn't remember to use them myself.

I also still confuse people by referring to dinner and tea rather than lunch and dinner. I usually remember to use the wrong words but occasionally slip back into the proper definitions.


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## Arfur Mo

I've only just come across this thread, and couldn't resist reporting something that was said to me in the pub. Time has moved on, and our cousins now have a new top trump. 
The bloke in the pub, musing out loud, said that supermarkets are said to be the "beating heart of America", (I didn't know that, but I'll take his word). 
He went on to suppose that recent events in the land of the free has put a new kid on the block in the form of a "Cheating Fart of America".
I doubt if this would have been said if the word "trump" wasn't a synonym for "fart" in these parts.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

"You Cheatin' Fart" is also a play on a well-known country song title, "Your Cheatin' Heart"§. Many supporters of T**** are also fans of country music. 

§ Maybe sung by Tammy Wynette?


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## ManOfWords

se16teddy said:


> Yes, 1 Corinthians 15:52 always raised a bit of a snigger at my school in Yorkshire.
> 1 Corinthians 15 KJV


would there be like the last breath? could we say (times gone by) that break wind and breathing might have been synonyms? Or I am way off ...


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## Rover_KE

Bevj said:


> Well I'm interested enough to have searched for synonyms of 'trump' and nowhere have I found a reference to a fart.....
> Can anyone provide a link?





> a fart: used mainly by children
> 
> _She let out a loud trump._


(Macmillan)


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## ManOfWords

I see ...


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## Loob

ManOfWords said:


> would there be like the last breath? could we say (times gone by) that break wind and breathing might have been synonyms? Or I am way off ...


Here's the text concerned:

*52 *In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

As the context indicates, "trump" here = _sound of the trumpet_ / _trumpet blast._


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## Roxxxannne

The connection between trumpets and farting was recognized by Aristophanes in _Clouds,_ line 165, in a scene about Socrates' "research interests":
Then the gnats' asshole is a trumpet (σάλπιγξ ὁ πρωκτός ἐστιν ἄρα τῶν ἐμπίδων).


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