Marmalise! Have looked it up in a dictionary and it means to destroy or pulverise.?

Question

Did anyones elses family use this as a word meaning to tickle or was that just mine?

Answer 1

It goes back a long time in the UK: Ken Dodd, a wonderful comedian (if only he had paid his taxes) had a group of small children dressed up as different characters: leprachauns mostly: He called them his Diddymen and the rascal of the lot was Mick the Marmaliser. Whenever he was in trouble, he would say 'I'll marmalise you'.....................

Answer 2

It means to murder and pulverise, which is what you had to do to oranges to make marmalade. however, it was used by Ken Dodd to mean tickling.

“Prepare yourselves to marmalise”
cried little diddy Mick,
And a thousand diddy fingers
waved their little tickling stick.

It's a quaint custom they have in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, where a famous English comedian employs a number of diddy-men to work his jam butty mines.

Ken Dodd is invented the foreman of the diddy crew, one, Mick the Marmaliser, who has since achieved international fame as a ventriloquist' dummy. The area in Liverpool is famous for its Robertsons jam company. Ken Dodd, of course, is extremely well known throughout the UK, started his act off with characters from the local area where he was born.

Answer 3

Yes, I remember Ken Dodd from the 60s. He'd say things like "If you don't... I'll marmalise yer!"

Answer 4

Just yours, I think.
Ken Dodd - he of the "tickling stick" - uses "marmelise", so maybe that's how your family came to use it the way they do.

Answer 5

Never used the word myself, but what an interesting story from Mr 'C'

Answer 6

Just yours.
I prefer "marmalade". At least you can eat it. Delicious on toast!

Answer 7

You have a very strange family.

Answer 8

nope not mine!!