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On a Lady's Girdle "give me what this girdle bound, take all the rest the sun goes 'round" PS. A slight misquote. See http://netpoets.com/classic/068003.htm
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Carpal Tunnel
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Allure - Walkway along the top of a wall.
It would be interesting to know how this word acquired its current meaning.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Bill:
interestingly, there is only a tenuous connection, if any at all, between the verb allure, meaning to entice, and the noun allure, meaning a place to walk. The latter is from an earlier word alure, an old French word for a gait or a way of walking. There's a connection to the word alley as well as to aisle.
the verb allure comes from the term lure, used in falconry, and when I saw that my mind immediately lept to alure as a high place on which to lure a falcon. Doesn't seem to be the case.
TTF
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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wwh: Jes' 'cuz I'm procratinating, here's a broad speculation with n'er a twit of truth in it...
To lure is to attrack and trap.
So, the allure was that walkway up high where some whistler would whistle a happy tune. The enemy would sneak up to take a shot at the decoy on the wall, and kaboom! Down would fall the machicolations and machinations and whatever those Machiavellian missiles and hot metals you and tsuwm were writing about.
Sometimes they'd even let a damsel strut on the allure with a cone on her head from which a wispy veil would wrestle seductively with the wind. The sneaky rascals, intoxicated with her seeming beauty, would creep up and kaboom!!! Down would fall again the molten metals and even some offal from the garderobe.
Over time, the defense-turned-offense purpose of the allure got all mixed up with that damsel, and the verb was born.
To allure became, not only to pull into machicolations, but also to pull on the heart strings.
All's fair in love and war, and sometimes the two become one.
WW
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Carpal Tunnel
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Hmmmmm, Ted, there would be some provocative gaits that would be alluring and luring up there on that allure, yes?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Alas, in those days they did not have primrose paths. I used to think "down the garden path" meant preliminary to seduction. Interestingly, apparently this is not necessarily so; http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/3/messages/256.html
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Carpal Tunnel
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This reminds me of the occasion when Captain Uhuru was told to go straight to headquarters without stopping off for a scheduled R&R on the planet Allure, which was noted for the sexual favors regularly bestowed upon starship crews.
When the crew found out, they were ready to mutiny. Uhuru explained that he would have to put it into the log, at which the crew responded, "Tour Allure, Uhuru, tour Allure and lie."
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear TEd: without spoiling your Irish lullaby, I remember Uhura, an Afro-American beauty, who had beaucoup allure. I watched only a few Star-Trek programs. When did the lady undergo gender change?
That alone would have been grounds for mutiny .
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Carpal Tunnel
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Bill:
As you can tell I am even less a trekkie than art thou.
TTF
TEd
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Dud-dub tells us, "Sometimes they'd even let a damsel strut on the allure ... seductively." Is said damsel termed the "allurette", as in the old french song, "allurette, gentile alleurette"?
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