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Joined: Jun 2002
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have you ever heard of it? http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z3B525F34 the paper does not give a definition and google is finding pages about methaphor downshifting...
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
(take off the first http:// in your address; and better yet, take that address to http://www.makeashorterlink.com) I believe it comes from cars, downshifting to a lower, slower gear. sounds good to me, though I notice that most the folks doing it are financially able to. for too many people it is a forced way of life... which may be a good thing in the long run...
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
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Let Grandpa tell you. Back in the twenties most cars lacked power enough to climb
steep hills in third gear. No automatic shifts then. And if you didn't downshift
into second gear about halfway up the hill, your engine was very likely to stall.
Sometimes going down very steep hills, it was also desirable to downshift into second
gear to have engine act as brake and avoid going too fast. I heard of trucks having
brakes fail, and with a hairpin turn at bottom of hill, going off road right through a house.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Even manual transmission cars these days have what is known as synchromesh, which facilitates the engaging of the gears in a downshift. The problem is that one end of the transmission is connected directly to the car's engine and the other end is connected directly to the drive shaft, which is moving at a speed directly proportional to the speed of the drive wheels. The gears in between aren't necessarily going to want to mesh with each other when those speeds are mismatched as they will be when you change gears. Before the days of synchromesh, there was a technique called double clutching that was used, mostly in downshifts, to match the speed of the gears to each other when making the shift. It involved depressing the clutch pedal, shifting into neutral, lifting your foot off the clutch pedal, revving the engine to the speed it would be going at the speed you are travelling in the gear you are shifting down to, depressing the clutch pedal, and completing the shift into the new, lower gear. It sounds terribly complicated from the description but it becomes second nature once you get the feel for it. My first vehicle was a 1950 Ford F-1 pickup truck with no synchromesh. I loved driving it. But I learned to double clutch on a 1939 GMC wrecker at my job at the sawmill. To this day, I will double clutch when downshifting on a manual transmission car.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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But, Vika, carefully note that "downshifting" is an Americanism of the first water. I've never heard it used in Brit-speak territory. We call it "changing down".
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Downshifting is a very common term here, Vika. The overall, general meaning is to slow down, which fits the theme of your article.
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Joined: Nov 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Is this what we used to call "dropping out?"
Or am I hopelessly out of date?
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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Sounds more like Dropping Out Lite™.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear Faldage Your comments are just too good and always on point Psssst : I owe you a big hug collectable on demand. Just don't tell AnnaS! But then maybe I've finally reached the age when I no longer inspire jealousy by younger and lovlier ladies. Ah, well. Sigh.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
But, Vika, carefully note that "downshifting" is an Americanism of the first water. I've never heard it used in Brit-speak territory.
The Telegraph using Americanisms! [Thuds from fainting brigadiers emoticon]
Bingley
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