Hooten nanny (Updated)

When I was young, my dad bought me my first hooten nanny. It was a little bug thing with wheels that you could push around.

I found out later that a hooten nanny is basically a mechanical gadget of sorts. It could be a motorcycle or a car. It could be a motorized machine. The way I understand it a hooten nanny is any device that has mechanical moving parts, sometimes used for mobility.

Who knows? Have you ever heard of a hooten nanny or something similar?

Call Me Scarlett said...
Where I'm from, a Hooten Nanny is a thing, a dance, an occasion, etc. A rowdy affair. Definately not a device.I looked it up on the internet and several references were made to "there will be a hooten-nanny party." Guess it has different meaning in different parts?

Thanks to Ms. Scarlett for this correction. I vaguely remember this being the case. I would add that this type of hooten nanny may also be called a shananigen or a shin dig (but my sources may be using the word wrongly). I am little under the gun at this moment, with my thesis. When I get that done, I'll find some time to do a little research on this to back up what Ms. Scarlett said.

Come to find out we are both right:
(from Dictionary.com)

1 entry found for hootenanny.

hoot·en·an·ny
n. pl. hoot·en·an·nies

1. An informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation by the audience.
2. Informal. An unidentified or unidentifiable gadget.