Is it "beck and call" or "beckon call" ?
I recall seeing this phrase in AWAD awhile back.
Thanks, Dave

It is "beck and call." Beck is a gesture of beckoning or summons. I've always interpreted this in my mind as a hand gesture accompanied by words of command, wish, or summons, but it is in reality an ironical redundancy.

I'm reminded of phrases like "kith and kin", "rack and ruin", "kit and caboodle", there must be many more, where the two words are used syzygistically (?!)and where one of the two has little or no real meaning nowadays.

These are all interesting pairs of words. Kith is an old English word meaning friends, so kith and kin means friends and relatives.

Rack comes from "wrack" and the phrase rack and ruin or wrack and ruin (either's acceptable) came I think from the financial ruination that follows a loss, particularly a shipwreck (wrack).

Kit and caboodle: now this is interesting (well to me anyway). Caboodle itself is probably derived from kit and boodle, so kit and caboodle is kit and kit and boodle. Boodle is, among other thing's, a pirate's swag, and caboodle can actually be a verb meaning to bribe or to take a bribe.

Thanks, johnjohn, for bringing these up! Fun stuff!

Welcome to you, Dave!

As you can see, folks here are prone to wander away from the initial path. But that leads to so much neat stuff!

Hello Jackie,
You're right. This is a great forum.
I had the answer to my question in no time flat.
(I wonder where the phrase "... in no time flat..." came from.)
Thanks for the welcome.
Dave

>"kith and kin", "rack and ruin", "kit and caboodle”

An interesting post!.

It has reminded me of another pair of words “flotsam and jetsam”.
I heard them for first time on a film and, I think, they were used as a synonym of padding but after that I have read them one more time referring to the unfortunate. This last use seems more logical to me as I learned that those words were used in its origin to distinguish the cargo or parts of a wrecked ship.
Are acceptable those two uses?.
I would appreciate an example of the common use of those words.



Juan Maria.

Flotsam is what's left floating after a ship has sunk. Jetsam is what is jettisoned from the ship (usually in an attempt to keep it from sinking).

And it's too early in the morning. I can't make ONE pun out of this.

from the dustcover of "When a loose cannon flogs a dead horse there's the devil to pay :seafaring words in everyday speech"

Here's the scuttlebutt: Barge right in and swallow the anchor, and let's chew the fat and splice the main brace 'till we're three sheets to the wind. Listen, you son of a sea cook, I'm tired of minding my P's and Q's. I tell you, I'm all at sea, and this is the bitter end. Nothing I can do will keep this ship on an even keel. Hells bells! You think I didn't tell it to the old man? delivered a broadside, I did, but he just called me a loose cannon. Maybe I caught him between wind and water. Listen, mate. You'd better bootleg a bible aboard. We're sailing under false colors, and where we're headed it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. It's Davy Jones' locker I'm talking about. The crew was scraped from the bottom of the barrel. They don't know the ropes, and anyway they're deserting like rats from a sinking ship. It's time to fish or cut bait, mate, or there'll be the devil to pay. No use flogging a dead horse. Let's stay armed to the teeth and look for any port in a storm. There'll be nothing but flotsam and jetsam when this tub goes down the hatch.

there's another interesting old word that means the same as flotsam: waveson -- so "flotsam and waveson" would make a redundant pairing (whereas flotsam and jetsam have unique meanings).

>from the dustcover of "When a loose cannon flogs a dead horse there's the devil to pay :seafaring words in everyday speech"

What a piece of text!.
Every single phrase could start a new thread. Thank you!.
I loved “waveson” too. At first sight I thought it was some kind of Windows sound file!.


Juan Maria.

>And it's too early in the morning. I can't make ONE pun out of this.

Did I wake you up?. I'm sorry, I believe that I posted it by noon. Next time I'll try not to make any noise.



Juan Maria.