Comments on: Salty language http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:11:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Campbell http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32659 Campbell Thu, 24 Jun 2004 07:20:39 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32659 The legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded a song called <i>Scuttle Buttin'</i> -- opening track on the awesome album <i>Couldn't Stand the Weather</i>. (Any excuse to talk about Stevie.) The legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded a song called Scuttle Buttin’—opening track on the awesome album Couldn’t Stand the Weather. (Any excuse to talk about Stevie.)

]]> By: Neil http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32658 Neil Thu, 24 Jun 2004 02:48:53 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32658 From The Australian Oxford Paperback Dictionary(1996): furphy n.(pl.furphies) 1 a false report or rumour. 2 an absurd story. •adj.(furphier, furphiest) absurdly false, unbelievable: that’s the furphiest bit of news I ever heard. This Ozword comes from the name of [John] Furphy, a blacksmith and general engineer, who went to Shepparton from Kyneton in 1871 and set up a foundry. John Furphy designed a galvanised iron water-cart on wheels and his firm, J. Furphy & Sons, manufactured them. Each cart had the name FURPHY written large on the body. So successful were these carts that during World War 1 the Department of the Army bought many Furphy carts to supply water to camps in Australia and especially to camps in Palestine, and Egypt. From The Australian Oxford Paperback Dictionary(1996): furphy n.(pl.furphies) 1 a false report or rumour. 2 an absurd story. •adj.(furphier, furphiest) absurdly false, unbelievable: that’s the furphiest bit of news I ever heard. This Ozword comes from the name of [John] Furphy, a blacksmith and general engineer, who went to Shepparton from Kyneton in 1871 and set up a foundry. John Furphy designed a galvanised iron water-cart on wheels and his firm, J. Furphy & Sons, manufactured them. Each cart had the name FURPHY written large on the body. So successful were these carts that during World War 1 the Department of the Army bought many Furphy carts to supply water to camps in Australia and especially to camps in Palestine, and Egypt.

]]> By: Neil http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32657 Neil Thu, 24 Jun 2004 02:48:44 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32657 From The Australian Oxford Paperback Dictionary(1996): furphy n.(pl.furphies) 1 a false report or rumour. 2 an absurd story. •adj.(furphier, furphiest) absurdly false, unbelievable: that’s the furphiest bit of news I ever heard. This Ozword comes from the name of [John] Furphy, a blacksmith and general engineer, who went to Shepparton from Kyneton in 1871 and set up a foundry. John Furphy designed a galvanised iron water-cart on wheels and his firm, J. Furphy & Sons, manufactured them. Each cart had the name FURPHY written large on the body. So successful were these carts that during World War 1 the Department of the Army bought many Furphy carts to supply water to camps in Australia and especially to camps in Palestine, and Egypt. From The Australian Oxford Paperback Dictionary(1996): furphy n.(pl.furphies) 1 a false report or rumour. 2 an absurd story. •adj.(furphier, furphiest) absurdly false, unbelievable: that’s the furphiest bit of news I ever heard. This Ozword comes from the name of [John] Furphy, a blacksmith and general engineer, who went to Shepparton from Kyneton in 1871 and set up a foundry. John Furphy designed a galvanised iron water-cart on wheels and his firm, J. Furphy & Sons, manufactured them. Each cart had the name FURPHY written large on the body. So successful were these carts that during World War 1 the Department of the Army bought many Furphy carts to supply water to camps in Australia and especially to camps in Palestine, and Egypt.

]]> By: Neil http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32656 Neil Thu, 24 Jun 2004 02:48:38 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32656 From The Australian Oxford Paperback Dictionary(1996): furphy n.(pl.furphies) 1 a false report or rumour. 2 an absurd story. •adj.(furphier, furphiest) absurdly false, unbelievable: that’s the furphiest bit of news I ever heard. This Ozword comes from the name of [John] Furphy, a blacksmith and general engineer, who went to Shepparton from Kyneton in 1871 and set up a foundry. John Furphy designed a galvanised iron water-cart on wheels and his firm, J. Furphy & Sons, manufactured them. Each cart had the name FURPHY written large on the body. So successful were these carts that during World War 1 the Department of the Army bought many Furphy carts to supply water to camps in Australia and especially to camps in Palestine, and Egypt. From The Australian Oxford Paperback Dictionary(1996): furphy n.(pl.furphies) 1 a false report or rumour. 2 an absurd story. •adj.(furphier, furphiest) absurdly false, unbelievable: that’s the furphiest bit of news I ever heard. This Ozword comes from the name of [John] Furphy, a blacksmith and general engineer, who went to Shepparton from Kyneton in 1871 and set up a foundry. John Furphy designed a galvanised iron water-cart on wheels and his firm, J. Furphy & Sons, manufactured them. Each cart had the name FURPHY written large on the body. So successful were these carts that during World War 1 the Department of the Army bought many Furphy carts to supply water to camps in Australia and especially to camps in Palestine, and Egypt.

]]> By: Neil http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32655 Neil Thu, 24 Jun 2004 02:48:02 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32655 From The Australian Oxford Paperback Dictionary(1996): furphy n.(pl.furphies) 1 a false report or rumour. 2 an absurd story. •adj.(furphier, furphiest) absurdly false, unbelievable: that’s the furphiest bit of news I ever heard. This Ozword comes from the name of [John] Furphy, a blacksmith and general engineer, who went to Shepparton from Kyneton in 1871 and set up a foundry. John Furphy designed a galvanised iron water-cart on wheels and his firm, J. Furphy & Sons, manufactured them. Each cart had the name FURPHY written large on the body. So successful were these carts that during World War 1 the Department of the Army bought many Furphy carts to supply water to camps in Australia and especially to camps in Palestine, and Egypt. From The Australian Oxford Paperback Dictionary(1996): furphy n.(pl.furphies) 1 a false report or rumour. 2 an absurd story. •adj.(furphier, furphiest) absurdly false, unbelievable: that’s the furphiest bit of news I ever heard. This Ozword comes from the name of [John] Furphy, a blacksmith and general engineer, who went to Shepparton from Kyneton in 1871 and set up a foundry. John Furphy designed a galvanised iron water-cart on wheels and his firm, J. Furphy & Sons, manufactured them. Each cart had the name FURPHY written large on the body. So successful were these carts that during World War 1 the Department of the Army bought many Furphy carts to supply water to camps in Australia and especially to camps in Palestine, and Egypt.

]]> By: David Sucher http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32654 David Sucher Wed, 23 Jun 2004 23:12:09 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32654 Indeed, Cochrane seems to have been a most remarkable man. For example: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcochrane.htm and http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5806.html Would anyone know the leading biography? Indeed, Cochrane seems to have been a most remarkable man. For example: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcochrane.htm and http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5806.html Would anyone know the leading biography?

]]> By: old maltese http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32653 old maltese Wed, 23 Jun 2004 22:58:33 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32653 David: I recommend 'Cochrane' by Robert Harvey. David: I recommend ‘Cochrane’ by Robert Harvey.

]]> By: rea http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32652 rea Wed, 23 Jun 2004 22:49:02 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32652 "These novels are based on the life of Sir Thomas Cochrane. If you read his biography it is stranger than fiction." Cochrane's exploits are pretty much the inspiration for the whole genre, not just O'Brian's work--dating back to the 19th century novels of Frederick Marryat, who had been one of Cochrane's officers as a young man. “These novels are based on the life of Sir Thomas Cochrane. If you read his biography it is stranger than fiction.” Cochrane’s exploits are pretty much the inspiration for the whole genre, not just O’Brian’s work—dating back to the 19th century novels of Frederick Marryat, who had been one of Cochrane’s officers as a young man.

]]> By: uh_clem http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32651 uh_clem Wed, 23 Jun 2004 22:16:04 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32651 You have it mostly right. A "butt" is a barrel. To scuttle something is to poke a hole in it. A scuttlebutt is (literally) a barrel with a hole cut in it so that sailors could dip water out of it. It morphed into shorthand for "water cooler gossip". A reasonable compendium of salty language that has come into common use is at http://www.fortogden.com/nauticalterms.html I cannot vouch for it's accuracy in every entry, but it may make O'Brian a bit more comprehensible. You have it mostly right. A “butt” is a barrel. To scuttle something is to poke a hole in it. A scuttlebutt is (literally) a barrel with a hole cut in it so that sailors could dip water out of it. It morphed into shorthand for “water cooler gossip”. A reasonable compendium of salty language that has come into common use is at http://www.fortogden.com/nauticalterms.html I cannot vouch for it’s accuracy in every entry, but it may make O’Brian a bit more comprehensible.

]]> By: Hank http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32650 Hank Wed, 23 Jun 2004 22:11:19 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32650 I also like the way some words mean something other than what you'd think they should. For example Maturin is ever in search of 'nondescript' plants and animals. Nondescript being exciting since it means they haven't yet been described by science rather than just being somewhat plain. Or the use of 'enthusiasm' as a negative ("I am no enthusiast"). I also like the way some words mean something other than what you’d think they should. For example Maturin is ever in search of ‘nondescript’ plants and animals. Nondescript being exciting since it means they haven’t yet been described by science rather than just being somewhat plain. Or the use of ‘enthusiasm’ as a negative (“I am no enthusiast”).

]]> By: David Sucher http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32649 David Sucher Wed, 23 Jun 2004 20:36:49 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32649 Indeed, Cochrane seems to have been a most remarkable man. For example: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcochrane.htm and http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5806.html Would anyone know the leading biography? Indeed, Cochrane seems to have been a most remarkable man. For example: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcochrane.htm and http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5806.html Would anyone know the leading biography?

]]> By: David Sucher http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32648 David Sucher Wed, 23 Jun 2004 20:33:58 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32648 Indeed, Cochrane seems to have been a most remarkable man. For example: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcochrane.htm and http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5806.html Would anyone know the leading biography? Indeed, Cochrane seems to have been a most remarkable man. For example: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcochrane.htm and http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5806.html Would anyone know the leading biography?

]]> By: David Sucher http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32647 David Sucher Wed, 23 Jun 2004 20:32:21 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32647 Indeed, Cochrane seems to have been a most remarkable man. For example: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcochrane.htm and http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5806.html Would anyone know the leading biography? Indeed, Cochrane seems to have been a most remarkable man. For example: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcochrane.htm and http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5806.html Would anyone know the leading biography?

]]> By: Aidan Kehoe http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32646 Aidan Kehoe Wed, 23 Jun 2004 19:51:17 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32646 <a href="http://dictionary.oed.com/">The OED</a> agrees with you; the secondary meaning for it is <i>slang (orig. U.S. Naut.). Rumour, idle gossip, unfounded report.</i> and it has a citation from 1918, <blockquote>R. W. KAUFFMAN Our Navy at Work xiii. 198 <i>It's wilder than anything the scuttle-butt gossips could make up! </i>Ibid. 199 <i>Ships are full of..rumours..which originate in talk exchanged around the skuttle-butt, or drinking barrel, so that all wild stories are branded as `scuttle-butt yarns'.</i></blockquote> The OED agrees with you; the secondary meaning for it is slang (orig. U.S. Naut.). Rumour, idle gossip, unfounded report. and it has a citation from 1918,
R. W. KAUFFMAN Our Navy at Work xiii. 198 It’s wilder than anything the scuttle-butt gossips could make up! Ibid. 199 Ships are full of..rumours..which originate in talk exchanged around the skuttle-butt, or drinking barrel, so that all wild stories are branded as `scuttle-butt yarns’.

]]> By: tuttle http://crookedtimber.org/2004/06/23/salty-language/comment-page-1/#comment-32645 tuttle Wed, 23 Jun 2004 19:42:44 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1769#comment-32645 FWIW, when I was in the US Navy a water cooler or fountain was still called a "scuttlebutt," as were the rumors traded there. FWIW, when I was in the US Navy a water cooler or fountain was still called a “scuttlebutt,” as were the rumors traded there.

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