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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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recently on one of the knitting boards i frequent, an unusual word popped up. (it's not new to most here, but i didn't find any discussion of it.--but i also didn't look very hard.)
the word (AWAD from Feb 95) was Boustrophedonic
--which mean 'turning like an ox'(does as plowing a feild)
which is exactly how a knitters 'read' charts in knitting.
a chart might indicate Yarn over (O-a sort of increase) or knitting 2 stitches together (K2tog or SSK 2 styles of decreases (K2tog =/ for right leaning decreases, and SSK \ for left leaning decreases), and simple chart might indcate the following instuctions--
K2, SSK (short had for a right leaning K2tog), YO, YO, (2 increases), K2tog(left leaning decrease), K2.
VV\OO/VV<-----read in this direction!
the second row of the chart is read in the oposite direction
UUUUVUUU----->
VV\OO/VV<-----
(short hand for Purl 4(stitches) Knit 1, Purl 3)
charts are always read from the bottom to the top, and you always start reading from the right to the left! knitting charts are totally unlike reading.
i don't know if there are (currently) any other examples of using a boustrophedonic style of reading information.
(there is a bit of an overlap--knitting nerds also tend to be word nerds. last week at a knitting group, the word puce came up (another knitter used it) and several turned to me, to confirm the meaning of the word--i knew it, of course!)
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I LOOOOOOOOOVE that word!! tsuwm? Please? Maybe?
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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there are (or were) some written languages that are (were) boustrophedonic. I remember reading about them in Godel, Escher, and Bach.
cool.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Oct 2003
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 389 |
Not an answer to the question, but the first time I came across the word was in an old 9-pin dot matrix printer manual.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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> dot matrix the usage of which is mentioned in a wikipedia article on boustrophedonic. 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Quote:
I LOOOOOOOOOVE that word!! tsuwm? Please? Maybe?
wha?!
[Gk boustrophos, ox-turning]
I know I've posted this here before:
strange new words I relish
like nectar or tonic
I now know my line printer
is boustrophedonic
-David P. Stern, Science magazine
Quinion
Last edited by tsuwm; 02/23/2006 7:07 PM.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
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Yeah, i know its come up before.. but not recently--and hadn't thought about knitting charts when it last came up..its nice to drag up an inoften used word --especially if there is new found use for it!
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I know I've posted this here before: Yes, you have, lovely one, but I never tire of re-reading it! Thank you! [blowing kiss e]
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
What a great word. Mav's boustrophedonic limerick from the older thread is really something.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Not only the direction of writing changes in boustrophedon, but also the direction of the letters themselves. Dot matrix printers simply printed lines of text non-boustrophedonically, but in either direction to save on carriage returns.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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> but also the direction of the letters themselves er, how does an ox do that? 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Quote:
> but also the direction of the letters themselves
er, how does an ox do that?
By turning around at the end of each row, duh.
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Snickery snackery
Theodore Remington
Gestured Sardonicly
Backward and forth.
Boustrophedonicly,
Usually chronicly,
To south and north.
TEd
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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> By turning around at the end of each row, duh. oh, fine. you're no fun. 
formerly known as etaoin...
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