Two nations separated by a common language

 
In respect of the word hutch - see yesterday's post - I was reminded of the quotation about England and America - ‘Two nations separated by a common language.’

Often quoted by GB, I was not sure whether the originator of this phrase was Oscar Wilde or George Bernard Shaw. The answer appears to be both. In The Canterville Ghost (1887), Wilde wrote: ‘We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language’. However, the 1951 Treasury of Humorous Quotations (Esar & Bentley) quoted Shaw as saying: ‘England and America are two countries separated by the same language’, but without giving a source. The quote had earlier been attributed to Shaw in the Reader’s Digest (November 1942).

Much the same idea occurred to Bertrand Russell (Saturday Evening Post, 3 June 1944): ‘It is a misfortune for Anglo-American friendship that the two countries are supposed to have a common language’, and in a radio talk prepared by Dylan Thomas shortly before his death (and published after it in The Listener, April 1954) - European writers and scholars in America were, he said, ‘up against the barrier of a common language’.

Inevitably this sort of dubious and almost certainly erroneous attribution has also been seen: ‘Winston Churchill said our two countries were divided by a common language’ (The Times, 26 January 1987; The European, 22 November 1991.)

 

Hutch

 
Heather recently stated that she kept things underneath her hutch. This prompted me to comment:-
"I don't have a hutch... Over here a hutch is a cage that one keeps pets in - especially rabbits. So reading this in UK English rather suggests you have a big ears and sleep in a wood and wire cage but at least the fact that you store things underneath it suggests you are allowed out occasionally! :-) "

Upon checking I also discovered that in UK English was not only a “cage (usually made of wood and wire mesh) for small animals” but was also a hovel: small crude shelter used as a dwelling .

Heather responded by telling me that a ” hutch for "me" - can't say that for all US peoples but for me - is a formal wooden place to keep china, dishes, special glass and such. Mine has glass doors on the top section, a counter space for keeping books and what not's and a lower section with cupboards (where all of my photos be).”

In the UK this would probably be called a dresser but the use of the word hutch for this was confirmed by Wikipedia – “A hutch is a type of furniture that usually consists of a set of shelves or cabinets placed on top of a lower unit with a counter and either drawers or cabinets. Hutches are often seen in the form of desks, dining room or kitchen furniture. Frequently referred to by furniture aficionados as a hutch dresser.”

 

Garklein

One of my daughters got a Garklein for Christmas. When I put define: garklein in Google I found only this –
Die Garkleinblockflöte in c ist die regulär kleinste Baugröße der Blockflöte.  As I only know French, English and Latin that didn't help me much.

Fortunately she had already told me what a Garklein was – a mini-recorder.

The Garklein-Flötlein is the smallest recorder in the family and is rarely used by the recorder orchestra. Being only 6 inches long in total with only 3 inches covering all 7 holes, small fingers are essential! As a result of the instrument's small size, standard note fingerings do not always work and the player will need to learn several alternate fingerings. Unlike all the other recorders, the garklein barely covers a two octave range and therefore the sopranino can potentially reach higher notes than the garklein - as a result, the instrument only tends to be used when fingering on the sopranino is more awkward than fingering the same notes on the garklein.

Pinnock and Mangnall

 
In 'Tom Tiddler's Ground' by Charles Dickens there is a reference to Miss Pupford's establishment for six young ladies of tender years... It is implied that Miss Pupford came into the world already "completely up in Pinnock, Mangnall, Tables, and the use of the Globes."

A New York Times article in 1897 commented that "In the first half of the century girls of the richer classes were sent almost exclusively to boarding schools, or were taught by private governesses, whose educational merits could not be tested by any examinations. The school books were Mangnall's "Questions." Pinnock's "Catechisms." Mrs. Marcet's "Conversations," "Keith's "Use of the Globes," Mrs. Trimmer's "English History," and other elegant abridgements."

Richmal Mangnall (1769 - 1820) wrote "Historical and miscellaneous questions" – I’m not sure of the first publication but the third edition was in 1803. It went through over eighty editions by 1854.

William Pinnock (1782-1843) wrote a number of books for ‘young ladies’ such as A Catechism of British Biography; A Catechism of Ancient History; and A Catechism of Modern History.
 

Casuist

 
A casuist is someone whose reasoning is subtle and often specious; someone who argues over fine details; a quibbler or sophist.

A casuist may also be a theologian or other person who resolves cases of conscience or moral duty and casuistry is a moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas.
 

Bullshine

Bullshine is considered a work-safe and broadcast-safe synonym of the swear word bullshit. Both are fairly modern in usage, especially bullshine.

Lazaret

 
A lazaret was a hospital for persons with infectious diseases and leprosy; was also a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets could be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland isolated hospitals.
 

Spats

Spats were short formal fabric shoe coverings worn over the instep and reaching just above the ankle, usually fastened by a strap under the foot and buttons. Spats were designed to stop mud getting into the side of your shoes. Around the First World War and into the twenties they were the height of fashion. They had gone out of fashion by the time of the Second World War, surviving in the law slightly longer than in other professions.

Nowadays, spats for girls are occasionally seen.

I have heard it said at one time that a man was all barefeet and spats and I never really understood it though the character in question was noted for abusing his position and for taking credit for the works of others. I don't know if that was a purely local expression or a more general one.

Skewer

 
In Charles Dickens’ ‘Tom Tiddler’s Ground’ there is a hermit who wears a blanket and skewer. What, I wondered, was a skewer?

To me a skewer is a long pin for holding meat in position while it is being roasted or a similarly pointed pin of metal or wood used to hold small pieces of food together.

A skewer is also a metal bar with a cam action lever which clamps the hub of the wheel into the frame.

A skewer can also be a wooden peg or spindle on which bobbins of roving are held in a creel. [The creel is the rack for holding roving or yarn on any textile machine. Roving is the loosely twisted strand of cotton fibres from the time it leaves the slubber until it goes through the spinner frames and becomes yarn. (The slubber is a machine which draws out strands of sliver and twists them together loosely in order to give the strands sufficient strength to withstand subsequent operations.) Isn't it fascinating how every word one learns leads on to another one...]

But what was the hermit’s skewer? I assume it was a pin which was used to hold the blanket together – perhaps having its origin in the skewer which was a long upholsterers' pin with a ring at the end.

 

Mary Sue and Gary Stu

A Mary Sue (or Gary Stu), is a character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfilment fantasies for their authors or readers. Perhaps the single underlying feature of all characters described as 'Mary Sues' is that they are too ostentatious for the audience's taste, or that the author seems to favour the character too highly.

The author may seem to push how exceptional and wonderful the 'Mary Sue' character is on his or her audience, sometimes leading the audience to dislike or even resent the character fairly quickly; such a character could be described as an 'author's pet'.

(My apologies that the above definition is quoted verbatim from someone's blog but I didn't make a note of whose it was! If it was you please let me know and I'll change this to an acknowledgement.)