tazz

tazz

English

Alternative forms

• (chiefly in the non-third person simple present) taz

Etymology 1

Unknown, though questionably related to North Yorkshire tazzed (“overmatched, defeated, beaten, unable to accomplish one's end”, adjective) recorded in circa 1870.[1][2] The proposed sense development would be someone who has been passed by another, faster competitor in race (who is tazzing) is therefore tazzed.

Verb

tazz (third-person singular simple present tazzes, present participle tazzing, simple past and past participle tazzed)

1. (dialectal, chiefly Midlands) To move quickly; to dash; to rush.
   • 1955, Gladys Mitchell, Watson's Choice‎, London: Michael Joseph, published 1985, page 76:

     It’s bad for him [the dog] if he’s kept tied up in that dismal place, and perhaps not properly fed. I say, how would it be if I tazzed down there and had a look at him?

   • 1975, Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor; Graeme Garden; Bill Oddie, The Goodies' Book of Criminal Records‎, London: George Weidenfeld and Nicolson, →ISBN, page [13]:

     I was riding this whacking big motor bike […] and I was being chased by all the girls from the Younger Generation [etc.] […] And then all of a sudden, Mary Whitehouse came tazzing up and overtook the lot of them, and she was riding a horse […]

   • 2016 February 23, Felicity Thistlethwaite, “Brave bikini-clad babes hit the slopes in SWIMWEAR shunning conventional clothing”, in Express.co.uk‎:

     The kooky pair were snapped at a ski resort in Khvalynsk, Russia by video director Alexander Kalinin from studio Dr Creative tazzing down the slopes in little more than bikinis.

   • 2018 October 26, @Tristanharris76 [username], Twitter‎, archived from the original on 2022-11-20, retrieved 2022-11-20:

     Well, the autumn leaffall timetable has been running a fortnight and this is the first time I've had to get off for a ten- minute^[sic] stop at Longbridge because the train tazzes through…

   • 2019 March 19, Al Dowds, “2019 Isle of Man Monster TT Races - official launch”, in Visordown‎:

     Fireblade SP bikes and Civic Type R cars will be tazzing about the Island, letting marshals and medics get to where they need to be sharpish...

Etymology 2

Possibly related to tazzle.

Noun

tazz (plural tazzes)

1. (dialectal, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire) A heap of tangles or knots, especially in hair.[3]

Derived terms

• tazzy

References

1. J. C. Atkinson (1876), “Additions to A Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect”, in Walter W. Skeat, editor, Original Glossaries and Glossaries with Fresh Additions (C; III)‎, London: English Dialect Society, page 6: “Tazzed, adj. overmatched, defeated, beaten, unable to accomplish one's end.”
2. Joseph Wright, editor (1905), “TAZZED, ppl. adj.”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume VI (T–Z, Supplement, Bibliography and Grammar), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, OCLC 81937840, page 45, column 2: “n.Yks.¹ [ta'zd.] Overmatched, defeated; unable to accomplish one's purpose.”.
3. Joseph Wright, editor (1905), “TAZZ, sb..”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume VI (T–Z, Supplement, Bibliography and Grammar), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, OCLC 81937840, page 45, column 2: “Lei. Nhp. [taz.] A tangle, esp. used of a rough head of hair; a heap of knots and loose ends.”.

Further reading

• Judy Steele (c. 2020), “Warwickshire Words and Sayings”, in Our Warwickshire‎, CommunitySites, archived from the original on 2020-11-24, retrieved 2022-11-20: “Tazzing about – dashing around.”

Anagrams

• AZT, Taz, zat