English
Alternative spellings
bumberchute rare
Etymology
Apparently a variation on UMBrella + paraCHUTE; primarily British usage.
Others note that it is definitely not British in origin; see: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bum2.htm.
Noun
en-noun
- archaic A whimsical term for an umbrella.
#: It smells like rain. Perhaps we should take along a bumbershoot.
Quotations
1912, L. Frank Baum, Sky Island
:"It--it belongs in our family," said Button-Bright, beginning to eat and speaking between bites. "This umbrella has been in our family years, an' years, an' years. But it was tucked away up in our attic an' no one ever used it 'cause it wasn't pretty."
:"Don't blame 'em much," remarked Cap'n Bill, gazing at it curiously. "It's a pretty old-lookin' bumbershoot."
1968, Ian Fleming, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
:"Me ol' bamboo, me ol' bamboo, you'd better never bother with me ol' bamboo, you can have me hat or me bumbershoot, but you'd better never bother with me ol' bamboo."
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