Originally Posted By: sudz
Why isn't the railed platform called simply "wife's peak"?

Firstly, the phrase is "widow's walk", an important correction because "widow's peak" is the term used for a V-shaped point formed by the hair near the top of the human forehead, from a superstition that it meant early widowhood (for a woman). It is a dominant genetic trait (I have one, 2 of my three boys have one, and interestingly, one that does not is a twin!).

 Originally Posted By: sudz
Etymology of today's entry gives no context to the phrase. There needs to be some explan that so many fishermen died at sea that their women were left widows.

The quotation from the email is: ETYMOLOGY: In the 18th and 19th centuries sailors' wives used such platforms to look for signs of their husbands returning home. Since the phrase is "widow's walk", I think the implication is clear that many of them expected to become widows, hence the anxiety about their husbands' return and subsequent walking.

ya scooped me, Bran! I guess I took too long composing... :0)

Last edited by twosleepy; 06/27/2008 7:04 PM. Reason: scoopage...