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This Week's AWAD describes "people who are essential to the movie-making business".
"stuntman" is today's word [Day 5]. Pls scroll down.
Day 1 is:
grip (grip) noun
A general assistant on a movie set responsible for handling production equipment, such as setting up and moving camera dollies, lighting, etc. The head grip is called the key grip.
[From English grip since the task required firmly holding bulky material.]
Today's Word "grip" is a short, punchy word, like "fist".
It's still another great word for limerick lovers, much like the string Anu gave us last week only this one is from "English grip", which is not a foreign word, except on this side of the Atlantic. [If you feel a limerick coming on, give it a go at Of Troy's new limerick thread on "Wordplay and Fun" - "Join in".]
BTW there must be dozens of names for things or actions which mirror the physical activity associated with them, not just a "grip" for a carrying bag, but a "kick-back" for a bribe.
Or, how about "digital computers" which require input from our fingers or "digits". Ten fingers if you're a "touch" typist, or just one finger. It's still "digital". :)
And I wonder if there is any connection between the word "grip" and "gripe". When you clench your fist too hard for too long, you can't loosen your grip. Happens to sailors clenching the "sheet rope" all the time. It hurts to let go. Same thing with a gripe.
Looks like there is a connection. Here's an extract for "gripe" from Merriam-Webster Online:
"Etymology: Middle English, from Old English grIpan; akin to Old High German grIfan to grasp, Lithuanian grieb"
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Carpal Tunnel
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please note there is an entire category for this (Weekly Themes) below, and plutarch has posted there as well.
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there is an entire category for this (Weekly Themes) belowThanks, tsuwm. I am hoping to generate discussion on Anu's daily words in this thread, rather than discussion on the "Weekly Themes" generally. As you know, there has not been much discussion in "Weekly Themes" pretty much ever. Dr. Bill thinks it's because it appears "below the fold" where it isn't as visible to anyone, especially newcomers. *In fact, newcomers may not know that "Weekly Themes" [below the fold] has anything to do with the "Word of the Day". I know that was my experience for most of the time I have been visiting here. I read Anu's daily word in my email, but I never really took notice of his weekly theme which is mentioned below the daily word and sample usage, as I recall. In fact, in today's AWAD, there is no mention of the term "Weekly Theme". Here's what appears at the bottom of today's AWAD: "What do those titles mean? This week's AWAD defines them." [No mention of "Weekly Themes" here, tsuwm, even if you read right to the bottom of Anu's AWAD, something a lot of busy people can't do.] In any event, I am not sure I would have connected Anu's AWAD with "Weekly Themes" even if I had noticed "Weekly Themes" below the fold. The connection is not explicit, and again, it is "below the fold" where topics don't get a lot of regular attention. My hope is that we can catch the attention of newcomers in this thread because it is labelled with the same word they are looking for, namely, Anu's "Word of the Day". [Today that word is "grip". A week ago, it was "skookum".]
Why shouldn't we make it easy for newcomers to get involved if they come to us from Anu's AWAD email which reaches hundreds of thousands of people daily? Hopefully, once they get involved in discussion about the "word of the day" which brought them here, they will stick around to visit other threads and eventually become members.It's the same thing supermarkets do with their advertised 'loss leaders'. The whole idea is to draw traffic into the store. [If a store isn't busy, a lot of people think it isn't busy for a reason. In other words, traffic generates traffic.] At least, that's what I am trying to do with this daily discussion of Anu's "word of the day", tsuwm. I'm glad you gave me the chance to explain this. This is not a vanity thing. It is a sincere attempt to engage the interest of newcomers in the hope that they will check us out and stay around. We all agree that AWADtalk would benefit from a constant flow of new members. The more the better.  * There are approximately 4,600 posts in "Weekly Themes" compared to over 10 times that number in "Q&A about Words". A quick glance over the last several months suggests that posts there are averaging about one a month. Of course, the volume was much higher when Dr. Bill was struggling "valiantly" to promote interest in Anu's daily words a long time ago [before he retired from posting onscreen because of eyesight difficulties]. In summary, tsuwm, it would make about as much sense to consign your obsolete words to "Weekly Themes" as it would to consign Anu's AWAD ("A Word A Day") to this purgatory. Hey, just kidding. :) I don't think it makes any sense to consign your obsolete words to this obsolete bin either.
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gaffer (GAF-uhr) noun
The head of the electrical department responsible for the lighting setup on a movie or television set.
--- comes from the fact that in the beginning longshoremen were employed to move heavy lighting equipment on a production set. They worked in a hierarchy and the one at the top was called gaffer as a term of respect.
Also: 2. An old man, especially a country man; and
3. A foreman, supervisor, or boss.
[Contraction of godfather, influenced by grandfather.]
It seems to me that "old people" are consigned to the scrap heap linguistically long before they consider themselves scrap.
An old man is a "gaffer" and an old woman is a "bag". But I guess that's the subject of another thread.
BTW I thought a "gaffer" was the guy in the old Vaudeville shows who gaffed the crooner off the stage with a cane just before the curtain went up on the strippers. But I guess I was wrong.
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best boy (best boi) noun
The first assistant to the gaffer (head electrician) of a film crew.
[Apparently borrowed from the sailing terminology.]We've all heard what ladies have to do to get ahead in the movie business. Who hasn't heard of the famous "casting couch"? What does a "best boy" have to do to get ahead? [That intriguing speculation is the subject of an ALAD in Of Troy's limerick thread. Give "best boy" a try yourself, or any other limerick for that matter. It really doesn't matter what you try over there. It's more about meter than matter anyway. And mostly the meter doesn't matter either. This isn't OEDILF.com, ya know. We're just foolin' around with rhymes over there.] Seriously though, in a day when girls can do anything boys can do [and not just on the casting couch], what do you call a "best boy" who happens to be a girl? In my day, my "best girl" was my girl. She didn't belong to the crew. Have times changed so much, I wonder. Anu gives us a best guess that "best boy" was "borrowed from sailing terminology". I wonder if it comes from "buoy"? Buoys 'bob' in the water, don't they? That reminds me of a joke that came out of the famous "Profumo scandal" in Britain many years ago. Two beautiful ladies with Communist Party connections [as I recall] were exposed providing sweets for the elite, one of whom happened to be Profumo, a cabinet minister, who resigned in the resulting scandal. [You could say he had a taste for tarts.] The lady who brought Profumo down, so to speak, was Christine Keeler. And the other lady was a striking young blonde by the name of Mandy Rice-Davis. [Who could ever forget such a name for a dainty dallying with a discerning sweet tooth? Mandy rhymes with "candy", and I'm a sucker for a rhyming couplette -- or is that "coupling?] Anyway, rumor had it that Mandy Rice-Davis came to a foul end. She was found bobbing under a peer. Happily, this little joke ties back into Anu's speculation that "best boy" is "borrowed from sailing terminology". And, one last thing: Isn't it somewhat insincere to say that we "borrow" any particular word from any linguistic source when we never intend to give it back? I do accept that this is the conventional phraseology, but conventions are generally known more for their pretensions than for their probities. Wouldn't it be more true to say that we "acquire" or "accrue", such a word? Heck! Let's not dissimulate. We "assimulate". HOUSEKEEPING STUFFBTW I don't take any credit personally for this idea of trying to generate some interest in Anu's "word of the day". I have just received a constructive PM about that, noting that my terminology about "adding value" appears somewhat self-congratulatory. The idea to do this was not mine. It was Dr. Bill's who struggled so "valiantly" [and so fruitlessly], as another old-timer has noted, to promote Anu's AWAD 'below the fold' in "Weekly Themes". But Dr. Bill can no longer post around here. I simply took up his idea, and his cause, because I think it is a good one. Anu has been most generous in hosting us around here for so long, asking nothing in return. How can it hurt to promote his AWAD? Obviously, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of his email recipients are interested in it. And, if providing a forum for "live" discussions of Anu's AWAD is a good idea, why isn't it a good idea to do it where people can find it conveniently, not hidden in the bin 'below the fold'? I thank the newcomer who sent me this PM for bringing this issue to my attention so I have the opportunity to clear up any misunderstanding. BTW Dr. Bill asks me to remind everyone who enjoys this talk-forum that Anu has a "contribute"* link posted on his homepage. Dr. Bill tells me that he is sending in a contribution and he hopes others will do the same in support of Anu's valued service, not only to us, but to the many, many tens of thousands who receive his daily AWAD. [Some of them, in fact, lots of them, might become members of AWADtalk -- we all hope.] * Become a Contributing Member of Wordsmith.orgYou're invited to become a contributing member. Your contributions help us continue AWAD and other services from Wordsmith.org.BTW we all know that Anu just installed a new server this past weekend to upgrade the service. This is what inspired Dr. Bill to have me make this suggestion here at this time. Thank you, Dr. Bill. No-one is more wedded to the best interests of this community than you are. P.S. If my own personal behavior has improved around here in recent weeks, I owe it chiefly to you. You bring out the best in me, Dr. Bill. When I say May our best come alive in 2005, I can't help thinking of you. If AWADtalk has a soul, you are that soul. Luv ya. :) BTW I do recognize that this post is very lengthy and that some may feel that I am being "long-winded" [again!]. I apologize for that, but I have also been criticized for "multiple posts" so I hope a "long-winded" post is the lesser of two evils.Also, I am posting some input from Dr. Bill regarding support of Anu's service. Most of us, probably all of us, feel the same sense of gratitude as Dr. Bill does, but Dr. Bill feels that this is something worth saying onscreen. [ He also thinks it is something worth translating into a "contribution".] So, thank you, Anu, for your generous support of AWADtalk all these years. And if it isn't your birthday today, well, let's toast your new server. May it serve you as well as it serves us. :)
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foley (FO-lee) adjective
Of or relating to the sound effects.
[After Jack Donovan Foley (1891-1967) who pioneered the techniques of adding sound effects during his three decades at Universal Pictures.]"Foley". Holy Moley! Another word for a limerick! I have never had the distinct privilege of communicating with Anu, but, I swear, this is a guy who must get a kick out of limericks. :) Not necessarily mine, of course. But I can always hope. [He can hardly be more stern than some of the critics I already have around here. :)] But, I digress. Today's AWAD is "foley". "Foley" is named after a pioneer. I know a diner that is named after a pioneer. It's called the "Daniel Boondocks". [Sorry, just made that up. What diner would want to call itself a "boondocks"? Could be a good name for a tavern, however.] When I say the word "telephone", does that ring a "Bell"? A pioneer uproots the old technology. Take Bell for example. He pretty much put the telegraph out of business. A hurricane isn't a technology, and it isn't a pioneer either. But it uproots telephone poles, and just about everything else as well. They used to name hurricanes after women. Remember "Hurricane Hazel"? [Now that was a wicked witch outta the west!] But, nowadays, they name hurricanes after men and women. One thing I've noticed since they started doing that, the hurricanes have been getting a lot worse. Do you suppose there's a connection? Maybe hurricanes are making up for the injustice. It's about time! BTW here's a story about a foley artist recording wind and water elements during Hurricane Irene in Florida. "When watching a film, the camera angles are constantly changing, so the perceived location of the audio needs to as well. Something as simple as aiming the microphone towards a subject versus away from the subject can make a huge difference in the tonal qualities of the recording. With that said, my partner and I moved closer to the churning water. We wanted to “color” the wind noise with some water elements. As we got closer to the ocean however we began to realize that it wasn’t working as imagined. The wind was so brutal and loud, adding water to the recording just sounded like pure noise. It was near impossible to discern the water from the wind elements. After several failed attempts at different angles, we nixed the idea entirely….it just didn’t sound the way it looked. It’s ironic that the actual water activity depicted in the film was unfolding before our eyes, but the sound used in the film was most likely recorded from a body of water a lot less active and tame: containing more detailed and recognizable water elements. The churning white wash in front of us had none of the detail and discernable quality we needed." http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/field_effects_recording_part2.html
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stuntman (stunt-man) noun
A man who substitutes for an actor in scenes involving dangerous feats. Also known as double.
[From English word stunt (an unusual or dangerous feat) which is of unknown origin.]
Hey, do you see a pattern here?
"grip", "gaffer", "best boy", "foley" and now "stuntman".
They're all AWADs and they're all ALADs, right? Gotcha! Wrong Answer. :) They're all essential people in the movie-making business.
Sometimes I wish we had a stuntman around here to stand in for me. But, heck, I'm not a star. And lately I haven't been getting a lot of views either -- which isn't all bad, ya know. It means I can loosen up a bit and hang out.
That's what the star does, you know. He just hangs out while the stuntman is getting banged up. Some stuntman really look like the star. That's why they're called a "double".
When there's trouble coming in the script, the director says "We need a double for this trouble." Do you suppose that's where the term "double whammy" comes from?
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