h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Gnomon, nobody said it was *meant* to kill, maybe a bear hug is just one of the hazards of illicit ursine love

Spiff, don't forget ferreting around, weasely faced, owlish, sheepishly (not that I've ever known sheep behaving sheepishly, but...), catty. That'll do for now!

< the difficulty of working on the devils apparently also gave rise to being between the devil and the deep blue sea >

Just want to make it clear that the 'devil' was a fixed ledge on the outside of the ships hull, just above the water line (the longest line of planking/caulking). From this ledge sailors would work the 'chains' (the fixed steel plates and chains) used as the anchor for all the upward rigging (stays) that hold the masts upright.

There are many islands, hills and other places (near the mouths of harbours, etc) called Devil's Hill or Kill Devil Hill or Devil's Island which are landmarks to indicate the proper time to either begin or stop some activity on the devils. The men who slung the lead, for guaging depth, would be stationed on the devil while going into harbour. And anyone adjusting the chains had best be done and climb back aboard on the way out, or else be trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea.

peace
jwf

> It's in the dictionary: to bate means to restrain or the reduce the force or intensity. I think this is a verb which has died out except for the phrase "with bated breath". >

To restrain or reduce the force or intensity...

See also rebate, abate, debate and master.

jwf

...and incubate.

hmmm, so incubate and incubus share the same root, but unfortunately we don't appear to have succubate

Cheers JWF for the clarification of the 'devil' phrases!

"the difficulty of working on the devils apparently also gave rise to being between the devil and the deep blue sea"

Are you sure? I thought the phrase "between the devil and the deep blue sea" was an English corruption of the Greek "to sail between Scylla and Charybdis". Scylla was a monster who sat on a rock (the devil) and Charybdis was a monster who created a whirlpool (the deep blue sea). They flanked the Straits of Messina between Italy and Sicily and were responsible for making that a hazardous shipping route.

Aw well, what would I know for sure anyway, I'm just an old REPRO-BATE, whatever that means.

Yes, of course I'm sure. Is there not a Devil's Hill or Island near you?

Some say that 'go to the devil' or the threat of being 'sent to the devil' reflects the potential danger and general unpleasantness involved in working on this little platform down the outside of ship. But the truth is, except for being caught there on the outward trip (as the seas swell outside the safety of the harbour), the work on the devils was relatively safe and easy in the shelter of a harbour.

The phrase 'slinging the lead' meaning lazy, comes from those whose only job on entering port was to guage the depth of the bay, with a lead line. All others were furling sails and securing lines and anchors and other heavy tasks in preparation for weighing anchor or docking. In safe and familiar ports, 'slinging the lead' was a pleasant way to pass the time and view the approaching shore, while those working on deck and below had no time for sightseeing.

peace
~jwf~

You sure you don't mean '*swinging* the lead'?

Did David slay Goliath with a 'swingshot'. I think not!

Swinging or slinging is all the same in this regard. You have to hang on to the chains with one hand and get the lead swinging round like David's 'slingshot' with your other and then let it loose far enough ahead of the boat that it reaches bottom just as you come up to it and get a straight down measure of the depth. "Mark twain..."

But I'll grant that 'sling your hook' could not be properly altered to 'swing to hook', but I'm sure there's those as have.

peace
jwf

A typo on that last sentence, obviously 'to' shoulda been 'your'.

But it gives me a chance to say ...you may be right. Perhaps those who were supposed to be 'slinging' the lead were merely 'swinging' it absent-mindedly. They would be giving the appearance of working while admiring the view of dry land.
In familiar ports where soundings were known, this would have been typical. Just as in many offices today people only appear to be hard at work concentrating on their computer screens.

jwf

Maybe swinging/slinging is a regional English variation?

Swinging the lead also means malingering, and actually that's the only usage I've encountered before IRL, though browsing around, it does seem lazy is an alternative meaning.

Googling for "slinging the lead" only got 4 hits, and one of them was a mishit, wheras "swinging..." got 267, and so seems to be more common, at least on the net, but it's easy to see how the phrase could get changed in usage.

It was told to me that "swinging the lead" = idling, was from the habit of pretending to take soundings; i.e. because effort was needed to retrieve the lead weight from the sea/riverbed after casting for a sounding, a slothful tar would only swing it but not release the line thus sparing himself the trouble of raising it again.
I, though thoroughly idle, would not skimp on this particular safety measure if I were on a boat. Bit like sawing off the branch on which you are seated.
Well, perhaps not.

Yes,Frogbit.
The self-help shelf in the local bookshop has a volume by one Howard Merkin - one I'm not investing in.
I believe one can also ask for an abatement of nuisance,Potholer.

Anyone remember George Carlin's '7 words you can't say on television'?
Later he changed the routine, adding three more. Can't say any of them here, but the point is, he later compiled a comprehensive list totalling into the hundreds, and yesterday I heard his definitive recitation of this 30 year old routine for the very first time.

It was a litany, a chant, a poem, a rap, a list of over 100 words considered vulgar and obscene. I listened in amazement and awe, the more-so for recognising every one and admiring the way he structured the list phonetically and by type of obscenity. It went on and on never letting up in a comic tirade of vulgarity. Then he said 'merkin'.

Until yesterday I always read that as dialect for American. Now I'm almost too embarassed to ask. And if it was on George's list, I know no one can ever explain it to me here.

[email protected]

I do remember an English book for foreign language learners (by Michael Swan?) where he listed various 'obscene' words, and graded them in strength. Only one got the full 5 stars.

Dear jwf, see post 3859.
K - I have a Polish-English dictionary called a F*ctionary, which consists of about 300 uses of the f word translated into Polish. Even more useful than the legendary phrase book which contains "My postillion has been struck by lightening" and "Bring me some brandy - these eggs are bad"

I know somebody with a American/German phrasebook for use by American soldiers invading Germany in World War II. It includes lines like "are there any railways near here" and "hands up or I'll shoot".

Anyone know the origin of "Long-Johns" ?

Drawers first worn in public by John L. Sullivan as a boxing outfit.

Alji

Listening to the Olympics, I heard one of the commentators using the word 'tret', as an alternative to 'treated'. I think the usage is probably most common in Northern England.

It did get me thinking about irregular verbs
Eat -> ate (Northern pronunciation 'et/ett')
Meet -> met
Treat -> tret

It does seem on reflection that tret may be a remnant from an original irregular verb - acoustically it fits quite well, but less so from the (presumably more modern) spelling perspective.

Would anyone know if 'treat' *was* originally irregular, or has it become irregularised in some areas by analogy with meet/eat.