Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Jackie #172170 12/18/07 02:17 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,772
Likes: 2
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,772
Likes: 2
Sprinkling sand on a still-wet document or signature

Ah, oui, you meant "sablage" rather than sabrage!

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956
Yaaaayyyyy! What a surprise. Honestly, I was smiling all the way through Alexs first post. Congratulations Olly you have been selected to inherit Thirty Million Dollars. I wasn't joking when I said I used a spatula. It's an old party trick. But the real winner has got to be Elizabeth. Well done! A good round. Yaaaaayyyy!

Last edited by olly; 12/18/07 03:03 AM.
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
Ah, oui, you meant "sablage" rather than sabrage!
- Interestingly enough, in French you say "sabler le Champagne" (specifically to celebrate) - "sabrer" also exists, but according to the "Petit Robert" dictionnary, it is not used in connection with Champagne. So this arouses a faint suspicion that your "official" story might belong the the realm of myth.

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Oh, ye sparkle-dimmerds and Petit Robertoholics!

sabrer

The whole choice


Brush up your French. Both terms are completely allright.
There is as large a sable myth as a sabre myth.

Last edited by BranShea; 12/18/07 03:05 PM.
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
A
Pooh-Bah
OP Offline
Pooh-Bah
A
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Originally Posted By: wsieber
Ah, oui, you meant "sablage" rather than sabrage!
- Interestingly enough, in French you say "sabler le Champagne" (specifically to celebrate) - "sabrer" also exists, but according to the "Petit Robert" dictionnary, it is not used in connection with Champagne. So this arouses a faint suspicion that your "official" story might belong the the realm of myth.


Which official story would that be? The quoted passage above begins with "There are several legends of the story of Sabrage or Sabering Champagne...." Michael Quinion at World Wide Words provides the following info on sabrage (excerpt) and also addresses the lack of certainty to its origins:

Stories hold that [the term] dates from Napoleonic times and was invented by cavalry who found it difficult to open champagne bottles while on horseback, but did have usefully heavy sabres handy.

Its language origin is definitely the French sabrer, to hit with a sabre. It’s a close relative of sabreur, one who fights with a sabre, best known in beau sabreur, a fine soldier or dashing adventurer.

Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
as suggested by Bran's links, both forms (sabrer ou sabler le champagne) are found. and what appears to be going on is our old friend métonymie.

-joe (but I don't *know French) friday

Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 389
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 389
Thanks for your successful efforts Alex.
Thanks wofa for your vote.
Sorry all for not voting.
At long last, for worse or better, I may be able to visit here more often.
Peace.

tsuwm #172181 12/18/07 05:29 PM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
It says(Trésor)métonymie is a rethorical figure (form?)(I'm not familiar with rhetorics)
What's in the sable-sabre texts is that both "sable" and "sabre"
are of disputable origin, but they both serve long.

Some assume that sable comes from cooling the champagne in sand in the old days; others that it comes from a sprinkle of sugar in the glass before pouring the drink,(blast!) giving the glass a sanded appearance, others say it stands for ad fundum or drinking a lot of it. At least sabrage comes clearly from the military and in Napoleontic days.

It felt like an all win game and up to Sylvester midnight; I'll remember the sabrage.

Page 2 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,677
Members9,187
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo
9,187 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 257 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,772
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,937
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5