but obviously the word wanted here is obviate, to make obvious.
*chuckle*. nice one, ron.
but seriously... that word seems to cause a considerable deal of confusion in that it often can't necessarily be defined by context; eg: "The customer left the service bay in a huff, threatening lawsuit and spewing venom as to the ineptitude of the mechanic who'd left oily footprint stains on his leather, obviating a telephonic customer satisfaction survey."
it just seems to be a strange word, but i still use it often because i can't think of a suitable non-phrase alternative.
oh, and at the risk of causing general panic by returning the thread to its origin, Rubrick used the word "Hallowe'en" the other day, and i've never seen it spelled that way. where does the contraction come from? (apologies if this is a yart; i'm about 3000 threads behind these days)
a considerable deal of confusion actually®, re: obviate, to meet and dispose of or do away with (a thing); to clear out of the way; to prevent by anticipatory measures
I neglected to use the [tongue-in-cheek] then; you will have noticed that I usually utilize (or use) the word 'obviousize' in that context. imagine the ensuing chaos in the event.... -ron o.
Back in the twenties, there were no treats, just tricks. Volunteer firemen set fire to houses abandoned on unprofitable farms, so as to make a few bucks putting out the fire. Rockets left over from the Fourth of July were laid down in gutters, setting fire to a hundred yards of accumulated leaves. Outhouses were tipped over. A favorite of mine was taking heel plate off shoe last, tucking it under shingle of house with long strong thread attached, hiding, and stroking taut thread with rosined piece of leather. It would make a noise that sounded as though the wall was being destroyed. Owner would come out, not be able to see anything, go back into house. Repeat ad lib. It was not until the early thirties that an elderly couple from Chicago brought the treat idea to our town. We thought they were trying to trick us, meaning to beat the bejesus out of us if we let them get ahold of us. When we found out they were sincere, the new custom was avidly accepted by the kids. Not necessarily by all adults. I remember a Saturday Evening Post cover, showing some kids being frightened by householder opening door wearing a threatening devil mask. How about somebody else recounting Halloween anecdotes?
Back in the twenties, there were no treats, just tricks. I have to back up Dr. Bill here ... If there was a neighbor who disliked kids and always complained to parents -- we would ring their doorbells and run away...this was the mid- 1930s. Or kids ran soap over windows. If someone was particularly disliked the boys would use soft wax which was the devil to remove - and sometimes trees and bushes were draped in toilet paper causing no end of fuss trying to remove it, especially if it rained and paper got wet. Pretty tame stuff. First I heard or saw of "Trick or Treat" : it was a slogan in a newspaper ad for a store selling Halloween candies! We quickly saw the advantages to that and went candy-collecting by ringing doorbells and yelling Trick or Treat. The wiser grownups were also quick to see the advantages of giving candy rather than having tricks played on them. In the early T-or-T days we would get donuts or apples, cupcakes, cookies or candies. Now the candy has to be packaged. US Rep Edith Nourse Rogers lived in our town http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASrogers.htm Mrs. Rogers gave quarters to children who rang her doorbell ... need I say the poorer children of the town were lined up at her door! A quarter (US 25 cent coin) in those days paid for your lunch time milk at school for a week or bought five big candy bars, or five soft drinks! I do not remember any Trick or Treating during the war years but maybe I was just getting too old to indulge in childish pursuits! I was a very grown up 13 in 1942.
jmh commented some time ago: According to the following site, swedes are also known as swedish turnips and were developed in the seventeen century and gave a url to a New Zealand website ...
Swedes are large turnips, of that there is no doubt. Most New Zealanders north of the Clutha/Molyneux River (and that's nearly 99% of the population) wouldn't want to see them on their plates, however. They are most considered to be cattle food; however there is the odd philistine in more northerly parts who actually likes the muck. My pater, for one. Mashed swede usually. The smell of cooked swede is something I will be the better for its never passing my nostrils again .....
>This is very mysterious to me--the idea of human beings looking at a turnip and thinking, "Oh, that would make such a great lantern, perfect for Halloween!" Bizarre. There's got to be a lot more to the story.
Well, I suppose that a group of parents got together, over a cup of tea and wondered how to amuse the children and decorate the house as the nights drew in. "We have nothing," said one peasant "how about giving the children a few sharp knives and vegetables to play with," said one, "those new fangled potatoes are a bit too precious," said another, "all we really have are a few old turnips, see what they can do with those ..."
Never having encountered a water-heater designated a geyser, I've never had to get used to saying it. I think I'd say geezer, but embarrassed that it sounds just like geezer.
My problem is that I know how to pronounce the Icelandic geysir, from which it comes, so I call that a gay-seer. Perhaps other talk about all the hot geezers of Iceland, I don't know.
Jo says, Isn't necessity the mother of invention! Also, Jo: in the context of small children to be kept occupied, "Invention is the necessity of Mother!"
Ok Here is another version. I had ocurred to me that the item was featured in a 1780 edition of "Changing Rooms" but I couldn't find the website. I did find this though:
The Origin of Jack O'Lanterns The tradition of making Jack O'Lanterns originated in Ireland. They were NOT carved from pumpkins, but from rutabagas, potatoes, turnips, beets and other vegetables.
The Irish legend of 'Stingy Jack' tells of a man so evil and mean he was not allowed in heaven. In fact, he was so demented he played tricks on the devil, who then wouldn't even allow him to enter Hell.
So, when Stingy Jack died he was doomed to roam the earth at night. He carried a turnip lantern with a hot, glowing coal inside, and he soon became known as 'Jack of the Lantern'... or Jack O'Lantern.
Thus began the ritual of placing Jack O'Lanterns in windows and at doors to scare away Stingy Jack and other spooky spirits that are said to aimlessly walk the earth after dark. http://www.wagsouth.com/hdays/ween2.html
BTW, are you US'ns on the Board aware we don't do Halloween in OZ? (Despite the ever increasing efforts of retailers to introduce it so as to sell more greeting cards, candies etc). Suspect it's only a recent phenomenon in other Commonwealth countries as well (excluding Canada).
...we don't do Halloween in OZ? Good for you-all! Keep up that independent spirit that's so obvious in all of you. Halloween is nothing but commercialism, here. We of the television generation are all too susceptible to the "Your life is miserable unless you have this" tactic... ============================================================
Well now, I just made an interesting discovery: most of the time, I use blue "ink" to indicate quotations. I'm getting a bit rushed, and when I previewed the above, saw that I had typed [o----e] but [/b-ue]---and my next line still appeared in black!
I think the best part about Hallowe'en is the costume party. Many adults let go and be someone different, hiding behind their costumes. I attended one last night in an old potato chip factory. It was appropriately scary and everyone was asked to bring a dish to throw. Safety glasses were provided and I got quite good at side-arming jelly glasses! Viva Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Consuelo!
stales, Jo mentioned swedes, a kind of turnip developed in sweden and used a cattle food. I mentioned that in eastern US, this vegetable is called a rutabaga. CK is with the majority, in thinking this not a commestable, but i am with his da, and think mashed rutabagas to be a winter treat. (no accounting for taste is there?)
Only we don't usually specify rutabagas, we just call them turnips.. or sometimes yellow turnips.
Just read an article in newspaper about playing harmless tricks on the children who visit your house. Lots of complicated instructions about making stuff BUT ... Here's an easy one - *If you live where leaves fall from trees take any bubble wrap you have, put it on the walkway to your door and cover with leaves ... makes a great noise when children come to your door! So as not to scare the really little ones, I wear a white dress with sparkles on it -- a really old party dress -- and put a sign on the door "A GOOD witch lives here!" (cackling insanely ...)
(said I'd never mention wide posts again but this is really annoying mumble mumble)
Caer is a common part of Welsh town names, such as Caerleon, Caerphilly... and my favourite is the local town of Carmarthen, which derives from Caer Myrddin = Merlin's Castle. The magic of language
Dear WW: here is a site about your LifeSaver chewing:
Triboluminescence Triboluminescence What happens when you crush a Wint-O-Green Lifesaver in a dark room? WARNING!!! Wear safety goggles if you try this! Triboluminescence ... http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/9911/tribo.htm More Results From: www.geocities.com
Dear WW: Careful with the dictionary. There is a word close by that would have all the bluestockings pecking at me if I mentioned it.(rhetorical device, can't remember name.)
And incidentally, nobody has yet guessed or found out what "excamation" means.As a clue, a very large ethnic group in India is having serious problem because of once numerous avian species now greatly diminished.
Because demons are a ghoul's best fiend. Witch raises a question about when they have lunch. Are they goblin? And if the ghoul gets pregnant from the encounter is she an ex-specter?
2.ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Rare Birds, Indeed | 11/13/2000 ... rise in AIDS INDIA: Way of Death Parsis in Bombay rely on vultures to consume their corpses, but now the scavengers themselves may be dying out CAMBODIA ... http://www.cnn.com/ASIANOW/time/magazine/2000/1113/india_vulture.html
Two little old ladies were sitting on the front porch having tea. The only sound besides the occasional sip at the tea was the creak, creak, creak of the rocking chair.
Then one of the old gals stopped rocking and turned to her friend. "Do you still get hankerings for sex?"
"I sure do," cackled the other.
"Well, what do you do about it?'
"usually I just suck on a Lifesaver."
There was a long silence, followed by, "Who do you get to drive you to the beach?"
Dear WW: I don't want to be mean enough to keep you guessing any longer. This is the only place I have been able to find the word: I just found out by using magnifying glass that I mistook "r+n" for "m" I am indeed contrite for having committed Irish Bull due to my vision problem.
The custom of excarnation, that is placing the dead on an elevated platform or hanging them from trees, is found over an immense area that includes a large part of Central and Northern Asia, as well as part of Africa. But to wrap or sew the dead inside animal skins is a much more specific custom. The parallel with widespread Eurasian resurrection rituals, based on the collection of the bones wrapped in the skin of dead animals, is evid
When I was a child growing up just outside London in the sixties, Halloween was just an occasion for creepy films on the telly. I was only vaguely aware of trick or treat and pumpkin lanterns as USn customs read about in books or seen on TV programmes from across the Atlantic. Guy (rhymes with buy) Fawkes (rhymes with talks) night was much more important.
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We of the television generation are all too susceptible to the "Your life is miserable unless you have this" tactic...
