Son of cul-de-sac - 05/28/03 04:12 PM
CLOSE:
Pronunciation: 'klOs,
Noun: 1 a : an enclosed area b chiefly British : the precinct of a cathedral
2 chiefly British a : a narrow passage leading from a street to a court and the houses within or to the common stairway of tenements b : a road closed at one end.
Etymology: Middle English clos, literally, enclosure, from Old French clos, from Latin clausum, from neuter of clausus, past participle
Date: 13th century
I had planned to finish with highways and byeways yesterday, but the word ‘close’ has been suggested and that will segue* into something different.
A ‘shut’ (see yesterday) is a narrow passageway but a ‘close’ can nowadays be a bigger thing entirely as the modern usage is mostly 2b above. So, on today’s new housing estates, say since the 1920s, you will find houses built around short cul-de-sacs off the access roads in order to make efficient use of the land. These are often called something like ‘Peabody Close’, where Peabody is the name of some local worthy, past or present or ‘Chestnut Close’ if there are some nice trees around. This is obviously a modern expansion of 2a where the ‘close’ was similar in width to a ‘shut’, but whereas a shut is usually a passageway joining two streets a close is always a dead end. The close leading to tenements is seen in Scottish towns and cities and is mentioned in a popular Scottish comic song giving an amusing account of a lady weaver from Dundee defending her honour, to whit her "me thingy-ma-jig", against a rascally Glaswegian, and failing. In the last verse she gives a good piece of advice:
Oh, all you Dundee weavers tak this advise frae me:
Never let a Glasgie fairlay, an inch above your knee,
Never stond at the back of a close or up against the wa',
For if you de y' can safely say me thingy-ma-jig's awa',
For if you de y' can safely say me thingy-ma-jig's awa'!
Pronunciation: 'klOs,
Noun: 1 a : an enclosed area b chiefly British : the precinct of a cathedral
2 chiefly British a : a narrow passage leading from a street to a court and the houses within or to the common stairway of tenements b : a road closed at one end.
Etymology: Middle English clos, literally, enclosure, from Old French clos, from Latin clausum, from neuter of clausus, past participle
Date: 13th century
I had planned to finish with highways and byeways yesterday, but the word ‘close’ has been suggested and that will segue* into something different.
A ‘shut’ (see yesterday) is a narrow passageway but a ‘close’ can nowadays be a bigger thing entirely as the modern usage is mostly 2b above. So, on today’s new housing estates, say since the 1920s, you will find houses built around short cul-de-sacs off the access roads in order to make efficient use of the land. These are often called something like ‘Peabody Close’, where Peabody is the name of some local worthy, past or present or ‘Chestnut Close’ if there are some nice trees around. This is obviously a modern expansion of 2a where the ‘close’ was similar in width to a ‘shut’, but whereas a shut is usually a passageway joining two streets a close is always a dead end. The close leading to tenements is seen in Scottish towns and cities and is mentioned in a popular Scottish comic song giving an amusing account of a lady weaver from Dundee defending her honour, to whit her "me thingy-ma-jig", against a rascally Glaswegian, and failing. In the last verse she gives a good piece of advice:
Oh, all you Dundee weavers tak this advise frae me:
Never let a Glasgie fairlay, an inch above your knee,
Never stond at the back of a close or up against the wa',
For if you de y' can safely say me thingy-ma-jig's awa',
For if you de y' can safely say me thingy-ma-jig's awa'!
