26/004 Greek Word νταγλαράς  – a big, strong, burly guy

We have an immovable wardrobe in our bedroom. Sooner or later we are going to have to shift it to access the wall behind it and assess how much it is suffering from mould or dampness. My wife said she was going to ask the painter to come along with two νταγλραράδες  to pull the wardrobe away from the wall. She didn’t finish the sentence because I interrupted with, “Two what?”

Probably from Turkish daĝ (plural daĝlar) for mountain. In trying to come up with a corresponding  English word – and for some reason I cannot understand – the expression Man Mountain Dean came to mind. I remember hearing it several times when I was a kid. Turns out he was a real person. I love the photo. It looks as if he has been wearing women’s clothing, but it was probably a swimming costume of the 1920s or 30s.

Frank Simmons Leavitt (1891 – 1953) was an American professional wrestler of the early 20th century, known by the ring name Man Mountain Dean. Wiki says he was 5’11” and weighed over 300 pounds. By today’s standards, that’s your average beer-swilling fat bastard, but in the 1920s, 5’ 11” was much taller than average. Unsurprisingly, with that height and weight, cause of death was a heart attack. Still, I’m surprised I had heard of this νταγλαράς  as he had retired by 1940.