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Posted By: Alex Williams sabrage uncorked - 12/17/07 05:16 PM
Congratulations to olly for correctly identifying the definition of sabrage, which is the act of opening a bottle of champage with a sword or sabre.

There are several legends of the story of Sabrage or Sabering Champagne write the authors of the aptly-named champagnesabering.com :

One says that when the officers of Napoleon’s army returned home after a victory, cheering townspeople would hand bottles of Champagne as tokens of their appreciation for their victory and gallantry.

Since the soldiers were mounted on horseback it was difficult to hold the reins of the horse and remove both the foil, wire basket (muselet) around the cork and the cork (bouchon) at the same time, so the soldiers simply took out their sabers and struck it against the lip of the bottle with an upward blow and sabered off the cork. Voilà!

Another says Mme. Clicquot (the widow Clicquot), in order to have her land protected, gave Napoleon's officers Champagne and glasses. Being on their horses, they couldn't hold the glass while opening the bottle.

Consequently, they tossed the glasses away, and took their sabers out and sabered off the top and cork and drank from the bottle. Voilà!

In more scientific terms, it is the meeting of the glass lip (annulus) at the top of the bottle just below the cork (bouchon) with a firm tap of a sabre's edge and at the weakest point of the glass seam in the bottle. When performed on a suitably chilled bottle of Champagne, the cork and glass annulus fly away, spilling little of the precious Champagne. The pressure inside a bottle of Champagne (100 psi) ensures that no glass falls back into the bottle making it safe to drink the spoils.

In either case, "The Noble Art of Sabrage" was born and the rest, they say, is history.



olly is the sole contestant to vote correctly, so let us raise our glasses and say “A votre sante” or sing “For he’s a jolly good fellow.” olly wins two points, plus a round trip for two to scenic Akron, Ohio, including free admission to the Akron Art Museum and the Goodyear World of Rubber Museum.

nharren is awarded the Daley-Diebold prize for casting his vote for K in a field of A through J. He wins an all-expense paid trip to Nonesuch, KY, with dining provided by the Rice Cake Café and lodging at the Brigadoon Motel.

But it is Elizabeth Creith who is the big winner. She garnered the most votes for her entry, receiving votes from tsuwm, etaoin, Jackie, and Fiberbabe. (wofahulicodoc was a close second with three votes.) Elizabeth wins the coveted Aubrey-Maturin Award, which consists of 8 points plus a genuine naval cutlass circa 1801, and a free two week cruise aboard the HMS Sophie. (The contest organizers and Hogwash, Inc cannot guarantee against the possibility of impressment into the Royal Navy. Certain terms and restrictions apply.) As runner-up wofahulicodoc wins a no-expense paid secret mission to Catalonia on foot, plus a copy of the Royal Naval Surgeon's Handbook, spattered with the very blood of Adm. Nelson himself(or so they say).


I exercised the Hogmaster's Official Whim by allowing so many entries that involved mention of a sword. Normally any one of these might have been considered too close to the actual definition, but the sheer number of sword-related definitions was a bit funny and did not spoil the game IMO.

Here is the full list of other entries, along with their creators and the votes that each received:

(A) :The final act of Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's ballet "Gayane". There, a fantastic sword twirling dance movement -"The Sabre Dance"- dominates the third act. So much so that the third act entire is today known as the sabrage.
-- themilum; received votes from BranShea, pennyless,

(B) the act of opening a bottle of champagne with a sabre
-- definition; received votes from olly


(C) n., swordsmanship; specifically, to cut off an opponent's appendage
-- Jackie;

(D) a stylized routine demonstrating prowess with a flat-bladed sword
-- wofahulicodoc; received votes from AnnaStrophic, Aramis, Elizabeth Creith,


(E) The ability to have two or more trains of thought at the same time.
-- Faldage; received votes from themilum,


(F) A usually elongated depression between geologic faults.
-- tsuwm;

(G) A group of native-born Israelis.
-- AnnaStrophic; received votes from Faldage,


(H) sabrage (sá.brage) : local name [West Montana] for sagebrush; perennial of the genera Artemisia.
-- BranShea;

(I) Sprinkling sand on a still-wet document or signature
-- Elizabeth Creith; received votes from tsuwm, etaoin, Jackie, Fiberbabe,


(J) An infusion of herbs injected under the skin of poultry, customarily chicken or duck, before roasting.
-- Owlbow; received votes from wofahulicodoc
Posted By: Elizabeth Creith Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/17/07 05:38 PM
Oooooooh! Aaaaaaaaah! FABulous PRIzes!
Posted By: BranShea Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/17/07 06:34 PM
Great ! great ! Congratulations Elizabeth C. and olly! Generous prizes. But really jealous I am of wofahulicodoc's runner up prize. Barefoot I suppose. I really would gladly volunteer to accompany. Live on wild food, count the blisters........
Could we not put some money together to buy Alex a free ticket
for the Khatchaturian Ballet and make him join to do the whole " sabre dance" on high heels?
Although I got no vote I still have this faint idea I won a donut somewhere along the line. (Nice round, thanks Alex)
Posted By: Alex Williams Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/17/07 06:42 PM
Originally Posted By: BranShea
Great ! great ! Congratulations Elizabeth C. and olly! Generous prizes. But really jealous I am of wofahulicodoc's runner up prize. Barefoot I suppose. I really would gladly volunteer to accompany. Live on wild food, count the blisters........
Could we not put some money together to buy Alex a free ticket
for the Khatchaturian Ballet and make him join to do the whole " sabre dance" on high heels?
Although I got no vote I still have this faint idea I won a donut somewhere along the line.


You may accompany the good doctor on his journey but in order to avoid detection you must be disguised in a bear suit. As for dancing in high heels, typically your prolific swordsmen will not themselves wear high heels, but if you ply me with enough champagne I might take a stab at it.
Posted By: BranShea Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/17/07 08:01 PM
Do you see the doctor on a secret mission travelling inconspicuously with a bear? No I won't spoil his prize. I'll get you your champagne.
Posted By: themilum Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/17/07 10:36 PM
Thank you Dear BranShea and Pennyless for your votes. Your gullibilities are only exceeded by your good taste and brains. It must be an embarrassment for you two ladies to vote with such elegance among such (B) to (K) tripe.
You two will go far in this World.

Quote:
At this point I should mention that I am accepting late submissions until midnight, and at this point the very next person to send me one is guaranteed at least one vote.

So said Alex the Hogmaster.

So I submitted the next definition but recieved no point.

I never have won a Hogwash game.

This is not fair so I declare myself the winner.

BranShea and Pennyless I award you two points each.

Posted By: Faldage Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 12:17 AM
So whado, I don't get any honorable mention for dissing my own definition?
Posted By: Alex Williams Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 12:22 AM
Originally Posted By: themilum
Thank you Dear BranShea and Pennyless for your votes. Your gullibilities are only exceeded by your good taste and brains. It must be an embarrassment for you two ladies to vote with such elegance among such (B) to (K) tripe.
You two will go far in this World.

Quote:
At this point I should mention that I am accepting late submissions until midnight, and at this point the very next person to send me one is guaranteed at least one vote.

So said Alex the Hogmaster.

So I submitted the next definition but recieved no point.

I never have won a Hogwash game.

This is not fair so I declare myself the winner.

BranShea and Pennyless I award you two points each.



'Tis true that I said that, but with what I thought to be an obviously forked tongue. However, you have argued so persuasively that it may be truly said that you have made your point. You are awarded one point plus the first annual Zachary Cope Prize, which consists of a $500 stipend*, a lifetime supply of Rolaids, and an autographed copy of Cope's Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen. This generous award was endowed by Mobil Corporation and the late Alistair Cooke so that those who cannot stop their bellyaching can at least diagnose it.



*in the form of store credit at Schipp's Fish Bait and Tackle, Barrow, Alaska
Posted By: pennyless Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 01:15 AM
lol! I raise a glass of virtual bubbly to you. Thus everyone wins.
Posted By: Jackie Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 01:59 AM
Yay, olly! On yer!
Posted By: wofahulicodoc Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 02:17 AM
Sprinkling sand on a still-wet document or signature

Ah, oui, you meant "sablage" rather than sabrage!
Posted By: olly Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 03:02 AM
Yaaaayyyyy! What a surprise. Honestly, I was smiling all the way through Alexs first post. Congratulations Olly you have been selected to inherit Thirty Million Dollars. I wasn't joking when I said I used a spatula. It's an old party trick. But the real winner has got to be Elizabeth. Well done! A good round. Yaaaaayyyy!
Posted By: wsieber Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 12:53 PM
Ah, oui, you meant "sablage" rather than sabrage!
- Interestingly enough, in French you say "sabler le Champagne" (specifically to celebrate) - "sabrer" also exists, but according to the "Petit Robert" dictionnary, it is not used in connection with Champagne. So this arouses a faint suspicion that your "official" story might belong the the realm of myth.
Posted By: BranShea Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 02:10 PM
Oh, ye sparkle-dimmerds and Petit Robertoholics!

sabrer

The whole choice


Brush up your French. Both terms are completely allright.
There is as large a sable myth as a sabre myth.
Posted By: Alex Williams Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 02:58 PM
Originally Posted By: wsieber
Ah, oui, you meant "sablage" rather than sabrage!
- Interestingly enough, in French you say "sabler le Champagne" (specifically to celebrate) - "sabrer" also exists, but according to the "Petit Robert" dictionnary, it is not used in connection with Champagne. So this arouses a faint suspicion that your "official" story might belong the the realm of myth.


Which official story would that be? The quoted passage above begins with "There are several legends of the story of Sabrage or Sabering Champagne...." Michael Quinion at World Wide Words provides the following info on sabrage (excerpt) and also addresses the lack of certainty to its origins:

Stories hold that [the term] dates from Napoleonic times and was invented by cavalry who found it difficult to open champagne bottles while on horseback, but did have usefully heavy sabres handy.

Its language origin is definitely the French sabrer, to hit with a sabre. It’s a close relative of sabreur, one who fights with a sabre, best known in beau sabreur, a fine soldier or dashing adventurer.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 03:18 PM
as suggested by Bran's links, both forms (sabrer ou sabler le champagne) are found. and what appears to be going on is our old friend métonymie.

-joe (but I don't *know French) friday
Posted By: Owlbow Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 03:18 PM
Thanks for your successful efforts Alex.
Thanks wofa for your vote.
Sorry all for not voting.
At long last, for worse or better, I may be able to visit here more often.
Peace.
Posted By: BranShea Re: sabrage uncorked - 12/18/07 05:29 PM
It says(Trésor)métonymie is a rethorical figure (form?)(I'm not familiar with rhetorics)
What's in the sable-sabre texts is that both "sable" and "sabre"
are of disputable origin, but they both serve long.

Some assume that sable comes from cooling the champagne in sand in the old days; others that it comes from a sprinkle of sugar in the glass before pouring the drink,(blast!) giving the glass a sanded appearance, others say it stands for ad fundum or drinking a lot of it. At least sabrage comes clearly from the military and in Napoleontic days.

It felt like an all win game and up to Sylvester midnight; I'll remember the sabrage.
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