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#47755 11/17/01 08:00 PM
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Hence the saying, "Fowls rush in where wise men fear to tread?"...Geoff

...and that line bears repeating, Geoff! Great joke. Said the birdie-she with a headache to the birdie-he, "Don't tread on me!"

A cadence in music is something you either dance or march to. Cadence comes from "to fall"--so I wonder whether long time ago, the falling was understood to be the fall of the foot more than the fall of the beat?

WordWondering...


P.S. Here's a foot fact that I tripped over:
Did you know that there are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in each pair of feet that release nearly a cup of moisture every day?


http://www.footcaredirect.com/footfacts.html

There's also a little foot quiz on that page. Problem in taking the quiz was reading that there are more joints in the foot than there are bones. What gives here?

#47756 11/18/01 02:26 PM
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I hope it's ok to paste these heel terms here; there are some great finds that I've put into italics:

Heel (v. i.) To lean or tip to one side, as a ship; as, the ship heels aport; the boat heeled over when the squall struck it.
Heel (n.) The hinder part of the foot; sometimes, the whole foot; -- in man or quadrupeds.
Heel (n.) The hinder part of any covering for the foot, as of a shoe, sock, etc.; specif., a solid part projecting downward from the hinder part of the sole of a boot or shoe.
Heel (n.) The latter or remaining part of anything; the closing or concluding part.
Heel (n.) Anything regarded as like a human heel in shape; a protuberance; a knob.
Heel (n.) The part of a thing corresponding in position to the human heel; the lower part, or part on which a thing rests
Heel (n.) The after end of a ship's keel.
Heel (n.) The lower end of a mast, a boom, the bowsprit, the sternpost, etc.
Heel (n.) In a small arm, the corner of the but which is upwards in the firing position.
Heel (n.) The uppermost part of the blade of a sword, next to the hilt.
Heel (n.) The part of any tool next the tang or handle; as, the heel of a scythe.
Heel (n.) Management by the heel, especially the spurred heel; as, the horse understands the heel well.
Heel (n.) The lower end of a timber in a frame, as a post or rafter. In the United States, specif., the obtuse angle of the lower end of a rafter set sloping.
Heel (n.) A cyma reversa; -- so called by workmen.
Heeled (imp. & p. p.) of Heel
Heeling (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Heel
Heel (v. t.) To perform by the use of the heels, as in dancing, running, and the like.
Heel (v. t.) To add a heel to; as, to heel a shoe.
Heel (v. t.) To arm with a gaff, as a cock for fighting.
Heelball (n.) A composition of wax and lampblack, used by shoemakers for polishing, and by antiquaries in copying inscriptions.Personal note by WW: anothr great Scrabble word along with lampblack
Heeler (n.) A cock that strikes well with his heels or spurs.
Heeler (n.) A dependent and subservient hanger-on of a political patron.
Heelless (a.) Without a heel.
Heelpiece (n.) A piece of armor to protect the heels.
Heelpiece (n.) A piece of leather fixed on the heel of a shoe.
Heelpiece (n.) The end Another dubdub comment: could be the last post on a thread, not to be confused with what follows below, a heelpost
Heelpost (n.) The post supporting the outer end of a propeller shaft.
Heelpost (n.) The post to which a gate or door is hinged.
Heelpost (n.) The quoin post of a lock gate.
Heelspur (n.) A slender bony or cartilaginous process developed from the heel bone of bats. It helps to support the wing membranes. See Illust. of Cheiropter.
Heeltap (n.) One of the segments of leather in the heel of a shoe.
Heeltap (n.) A small portion of liquor left in a glass after drinking.
Heeltapped (imp. & p. p.) of Heeltap
Heeltapping (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Heeltap
Heeltap (v. t.) To add a piece of leather to the heel of (a shoe, boot, etc.)
Heeltool (n.) A tool used by turners in metal, having a bend forming a heel near the cutting end.

http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~ralph/OPTED/v003/wb1913_h.html


Dub




#47757 11/18/01 02:52 PM
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A long time ago I saw a billboard in an Elevated station with an ad for "The All-American Heel", showing a pretty girl exclaiming "I'm in love with the All-American Heel!" Someone had written under that with lipstick in large letters "Tough luck, sister, I married him."


#47758 11/18/01 04:38 PM
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classicaly (or at least since the victorian) women glow, men perspire, and horses sweat.

but as WW points out: P.S. Here's a foot fact that I tripped over:
Did you know that there are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in each pair of feet that release nearly a cup of moisture every day?


Human are the sweatiest animal on earth. we have more sweat glands, and excrete more sweat than anything else. and needless to say, in this day an age, most of us hardly ever break a sweat.

for more information than you want about sweat, you could search the annals of Natural History Magazine Earlier this year (MAY?) they had an article about sweat.



#47759 11/18/01 06:06 PM
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of Troy: My mom and dad used to live in Florida and took house guests to the races for a diversion.

My dad always instructed me, "Bet on the horse that has broken out in the biggest sweat. It will usually win." Well, I would bet as instructed, but rarely did my horse win.

Back to those 250,000 sweat glands in the foot: You wouldn't think there would be any room for muscle, tendon and bone with so many glands taking up space.

I like the quote from Leonardo da Vinci on the link I posted above:

(the foot): "a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art"...


#47760 11/18/01 07:29 PM
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A young lady who spent a summer in Italy in the early thirties told me that she was chided for saying the word "foot" because it was unmentionable in Roman society. j


#47761 11/18/01 09:27 PM
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And, of course, football, as applied to both American football and soccer.


#47762 11/19/01 05:17 AM
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A young lady who spent a summer in Italy in the early thirties told me that she was chided for saying the word
"foot" because it was unmentionable in Roman society.


You were around in the year thirty? Man, you ARE old! Oh, but you're only kidding; they didn't use our calendar back then.


#47763 11/19/01 10:14 AM
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About this entry:

Heel (n.) The part of any tool next the tang or handle; as, the heel of a scythe.

The parts of the scythe interest me. There's a horizontal pin on the scythe that has a name that is identical to the pin that is part of an oar lock. The word escapes me. Does anyone know what the word is? I'll have to look up tholepin because that is ringing a bell, but have to get ready for school now.

Best regards,
DubDub


#47764 11/19/01 10:20 AM
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Well, my curiosity got the better of me, and here's what a quick search of tholepin (not to be confused with solepin) turned up:

peg, pin, thole, tholepin, rowlock, oarlock -- (a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing) PART OF: dinghy, dory, rowboat -- (a small boat of shallow draft with cross thwarts for seats and rowlocks for oars with which it is propelled)

http://www.notredame.ac.jp/cgi-bin/wn?cmd=wn&word=tholepin

I'm fairly certain that either thole or tholepin is also the word for the pin on a scythe. Not certain at all about what relation, if any, the tholepin may have to the heel of the scythe.

WW


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