DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Tizer]

The forenames Gertrude Maud don't seem to link to Binnie at all so I'll have to check what the maiden of the man's wife is.

The Ford Squire is lovely. Interesting to see that the more basic version was called a Ford Escort.

[Stanley]

The word 'gremlin' jumped out at me today, you don't often come across it. I first heard it during the war when it seemed to be mainly used by the RAF to describe those unexpected problems that pop up when you are dealing with machinery. I looked it up and it is of uncertain origin, first appearing 1925/1930 and mainly associated with flying matters. Thought to be a phonetic variation on goblin.

[Tizer]

I've got a word that should appeal to Tripps. I know he's worrying about continuing chaos after the referendum, whichever way it goes. Someone on the radio said he was worried that we'll end up with a `neverendum'!

[Tripps]

You've got me weighed up haven't you ?
Straight from the Latin - second declension neuter noun, if I'm not mistaken.

[Stanley]

I don't understand that but I like it....

[plaques]

neverendum

Latin was never one of my strong points if fact you could say I was pretty 'dum' at it.

[chinatyke]

neverendum

Latin was never one of my strong points if fact you could say I was pretty 'dum' at it.

Amo, Amas, Amat, Amamus, amatis, amant... 5 years at Grammar School and never got any further than that. I wonder where I'd be now if I hadn't had that drummed in to me? I guess Education is wasted on some folks.

[David Whipp]

amabo, amabis, amabit, amabimus, amabitis, amabunt... hasn't done a ot for me either... though I'm noticeably more Europhile than most.

[Tizer]

It's a funny old world, I didn't do Latin at school yet I use Latin-derived words all the time due to my interests in science, especially in biology and geology. Geologists can't resist technical and complex words and will always use `aeolian forces' where `wind' would do. Take this extract from the web pages of the Mid-Wales Geology Society when describing their trip to the Lleyn Peninsula:

"On Day 1 in lovely weather we looked at the Precambrian of the most SW part of Lleyn, regarded as one of the finest excursions in North Wales, parking at 142255 and traversing SE through the geologically separate Precambrian Gwna Group, from the chloritic tuffs to the underlying mélange, and then to a small area of overlying Ordovician Gwyddel tuffs, until Porth Felen (lunch) where the Ordovician is faulted against the greenschists of Gwna Group. This shear zone (near a major fault) becomes more distorted and schistose moving south-west, until around 153245 the schisty rocks are faulted against Ordovician Arenig which, some 300 metres further, at Pen y Cil is intruded by a large dolerite dyke."

And as if that's not enough...
"The morning of Day 3 was spent at Gimblet Rock 387343, ducking sea spray on a small exposure of Ordovician dolerite on the tip of a rather wild headland at Pwllheli. This displays remarkable small pods of pegmatitic structures where late-stage accumulation of exsolving volatiles lowered the melting point of the dolerite, allowing large feldpars and beautiful pyroxene crystals to grow. In the afternoon we went to Criccieth, parking around 520380 and walking along the railway line to look at part of the Upper Cambrian in a forlorn attempt to find the Dictyonema beds (dendritic graptolites)."

If you want the full-blown report here it is: LINK
(And no disrespect meant to the Mid-Wales Geology Society, they are doing a fine job!)

[Stanley]

At the GS I attended we had two streams, Latin and German. I went with German and found it very useful when I was posted to Berlin. Would the same apply to Latin and a posting to Rome?
I can remember the first time I gained Brownie points from my studies. As the Blue Train sped towards Berlin one of my new mates commented that all the German towns we passed through seemed to have the same name, 'Ausgang'. Respectful silence when I said that this meant exit...... (That was possibly the best train journey of my life, everything new and interesting.)

Just posted one of Bob's bits and in it he uses the French phrase 'Ce n’est rien,' The short form of 'Ce n’est faire rien', This is the origin of our saying 'sanfairiann' meaning the same, it doesn't matter.

[David Whipp]

I referenced the term 'isogloss' in a facebook thread the other day in a discussion about what words are used for 'tea cakes'...

[Tizer]

Isn't `isogloss' the stuff they use to get cloudiness out of beer?

I always remember travelling on Italian trains and the windows all had `Pericoloso sporgersi' written on them - `dangerous to lean out'.

In Sweden the entrances to pedestrian underpasses have a sign saying `Ei up' which always makes me think of what Northern English folk say when they mean `Watch out'. The Swedish term means `Way down'. Perhaps the Northern English version originally meant `Get down' as when you came under fire from enemy arrows?

[Stanley]

David, exactly the right context.... Tiz, the German carriages on the Blue Train had that same sign on the doors. Funny how these things stick in your mind. Being so soon after the war there were lots of signs 'luftschutsraum' which at first puzzled me because I thought it was 'airtight' room but then I realised it was the German equivalent of our 'Air Raid Shelter'.



Spraying porcelain enamel air raid shelter signs at General Gas Appliances, Audenshaw in 1940. My mother worked on the spray booth line in the 1930s and that's where she met my father.....

[Tripps]

The German road sign which sticks in my memory is "Seitenstreifen nicht befahrbar"

It means "keep off the verge". Looked like good advice, when my 4 ton wagon with a telephone exchange on the back had sunk up to its axle.

[Stanley]

Bruff used a word this morning that is new to me.... 'meme'. I looked it up and found this is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture". You learn something new every day!

[David Whipp]

Was meme coined by Richard Dawkins?

In modern day, social network, parlance, it's the pictures with a slogan on them.

[plaques]

Meme, used quite a lot in Dawkin's books.

[Tripps]

I have been subscribing to The Spectator for a few months now. Started with a special offer too good to refuse, then continued at the full price because I enjoyed it.

Today's edition has a list of eight 'hard words'.

Imagine my joy when one of them was 'tergiversation'.

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

'Rucksack' caught my ear yesterday. Remembering the origin of haversack from 'haver' meaning oats I wondered what 'Ruck' came from. Webster says it is Med German origin 'ruck' meaning 'back. Therefore 'back sack'. I am happy now......

[Tripps]

I saw last night on the news that a 'Polling Station' was signed 'Polling Place'. I suspect there is a touch of political correctness somewhere here - but darned if I can work it out. When did it change, and why?

What next Police Places, Railway Places?

[Stanley]

Place in Life? Places of the cross? Petrol Place?

[Tizer]

"...polling place is the building and polling station is the specific room (or part of a room) where voters cast their votes. A polling place can contain one or more polling stations." From Wikipedia and the reference is given as the `Handbook for polling station staff'. LINK

On the other hand, in our village the `Polling Station' sign seemed to apply to the Village Hall rather than the room within it. LINK

[PanBiker]

Indeed, throughout Pendle there used to be a few locations that had more than one polling district in the building.

[Whyperion]

Traduced Corbyn's comment on Chilcot and Iraq war. Used the word.

Corbyn and BoJo should appear on a celebrity countdown for their use of words that are not exactly everday.