# 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 circa 1870. 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)
* (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: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 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)
* (dialectal, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire) A heap of tangles or knots, especially in hair.

##### Derived terms

* tazzy

### References

* ↑ 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.”
* ↑ 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[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, page 45, column 2: “n.Yks.$^1$ [ta'zd.] Overmatched, defeated; unable to accomplish one's purpose.”
* ↑ 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[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, 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 (2025 January 25) “Warwickshire Words and Sayings”, in Our Warwickshire‎, CommunitySites, archived from the original on 2020-11-24: “Tazzing about – dashing around.”

### Anagrams

* AZT, Taz, zat