#75796
07/11/2002 2:29 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Knights Errant In France, from 768 to 987, the land was encumbered with fortified castles; in England this was not the case
till the reign of Stephen. The lords of these castles used to carry off females and commit rapine, so that a class of men sprang
up, at least in the pages of romance, who roamed about in full armour to protect the defenceless and aid the oppressed.
And the Knights Arrant were the ones who committed the rapes.
I remember learning the word "arrant" from R.L.Stevenson poem "My Shadow"
the last stanza being:
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
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#75797
07/11/2002 3:08 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lachesis [Lak'-e-sis ]. The Fate who spins life's thread, working into the woof the sundry events destined
to occur. Clotho held the distaff, and Atropos cut off the thread when life was to be ended. (Greek,
klótho, to draw thread from a distaff; Lachesis from lagchano, to assign by lot; and Atropos = inflexible.)
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#75798
07/11/2002 3:10 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dr. Bill:
How knights of you to bring up this topic. For some strange reason, your mentioning that word reminded me of one of the least-known knights of the Round Table, Sir Humphrey, little known because he had little money. How poor was he? He was so poor that he didn't have a charger on which to gad about. He had to make do with a cart pulled by a pair of Toggenburgs, hence his sometimes moniker: Sir Humprey Goatcart.
One day King Abdul remarked that he hadn't seen Sir Humprey around the old camel lot in some time (and here you thought this was about King Arthur;s round table, didn't you?) No one else had seen him in weeks, but it was reported that his goats had returned without him, dragging the cart behind them.
So King Abdul decided to send someone out looking for Sir Humphrey. All of the other knights were busy on various quests, so Lady Pamela volunteered. At first old Abdul wasn't too happy, but finally he relented. So Lady Pamela, suitably clad in a slinky two piece suit of fe-mail, set out on her pretty grey mare to find the errant knight.
Some weeks later, after many adventures which may be read about elsewhere, she found Sir Humphrey, who had been captured by a fierce magical dragon and imprisoned, grievously wounded, in the dank confines of a cave. Lady Pamela engaged the dragon in combat and cut off its head with her trusty sewing scissors. As she was binding up Humphrey's wounds, he saw over her shoulder that the dragon, a magical beast, had raised itself from the dead and was creeping up behind her.
So Sir Humphrey shouted to his would-be rescuer, "Slay it again, Pam."
TEd
TEd
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#75799
07/11/2002 3:10 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
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Laconic Very concise and pithy. A Spartan was called a Lacon from Laconia, the land inwhich he dwelt.
The Spartans were noted for their brusque and sententious speech. When Philip of Macedon wrote to the
Spartan magistrates, “If I enter Laconia, I will level Lacedæmon to the ground,” the ephors wrote word
back the single word, “If.”
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#75800
07/11/2002 3:15 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lady A woman of wealth, of station, or of rank. Verstegan says, “It was anciently written Hleafdian [?
hlæfdige], contracted first into Lafdy, and then into Lady. Laf or Hláf (loaf) means food in general or
bread in particular, and dig-ian or dug-an, to help, serve, or care for; whence lady means the
`bread-server.' The lord (or loaf-ward supplied the food, and the lady saw that it was properly served, for
the ladies used to carve and distribute the food to the guests.”
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#75801
07/11/2002 3:24 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Ladies' Smocks Garden cress, botanically called Cardamine, a diminutive of the Greek kardamon, called
in Latin nasturtium, sometimes called Nose-smart (Kara-damon, head-afflicting); so nasturtium is
Nasi-tortium (nose-twisting), called so in consequence of its pungency.
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#75802
07/11/2002 3:26 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lager Beer A strong German beer. Lager means a “storehouse,” and lager beer means strong beer made
(in March) for keeping.
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#75803
07/11/2002 3:28 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Laissez Faire, Laissez Passer Lord John Russell said: “Colbert, with the intention of fostering the
manufactures of France, established regulations limiting the webs woven in looms to a particular size. He
also prohibited the introduction of foreign manufactures Then the French vine-growers, finding they could
no longer get rid of their wine, began to grumble. When Colbert asked a merchant what relief he could
give, he received for answer, `Laissez faire, laissez passer;' that is to say, Don't interfere with our mode
of manufactures, and don't stop the introduction of foreign imports.”
The laissez-faire system. The let-alone system.
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#75804
07/11/2002 3:28 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346 |
So Sir Humphrey shouted to his would-be rescuer, "Slay it again, Pam."
The piano player stopped dead in his tracks. A sudden patter of feet and the barman was beside them, clearing away the glasses.
He glared sharply at TEd, and with a slight sneer said,
"That's it, mate. You're bard."
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#75805
07/11/2002 3:29 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lake School (The). The school of poetry introduced by the Lake poets Wordsworth, Coleridge, and
Southey, who resided in the Lake district of Cumberland and Westmoreland, and sought inspiration in the
simplicity of nature. The name was first applied in derision by the Edinburgh Review to the class of poets
who followed the above-named trio.
N.B. Charles Lamb, Lloyd, and Professor William (Christopher North) are sometimes placed among
the “Lakers.”
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#75806
07/11/2002 3:49 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lampoon Sir Walter Scott says, “These personal and scandalous libels, carried to excess in the reign of
Charles II., acquired the name of lampoons from the burden sung to them: Lampone, lampone, camerada
lampone'- Guzzler, guzzler, my fellow guzzler.” (French, lamper, to guzzle.) Sir Walter obtained his
information from Trevoux.
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#75807
07/11/2002 3:58 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Land-lubber An awkward or inexpert sailor on board ship. (Lubber, the Welsh llob, a dunce.)
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#75808
07/11/2002 4:00 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Land of Nod (The). To go to the land of Nod is to go to bed. There are many similar puns and more in
French than in English. Of course, the reference is to Gen. iv. 16, “Cain went ... and dwelt in the land of
Nod;” but where the land of Nod is or was nobody knows. In fact, “Nod” means a vagrant or vagabond,
and when Cain was driven out he lived “a vagrant life,” with no fixed abode, till he built his “city.” (See
Needham .)
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#75809
07/11/2002 4:04 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Langue d'Oc The Provencal branch of the Gallo-Romaic idiom; so called from their oc (yes).
Langue d'Oil Walloon or Germanised Gallo-Romaic; so called from their pronouncing our yes as oil
(o.e) These Gauls lived north of the Loire; the Provencals dwelt south of that river.
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#75810
07/11/2002 4:11 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Larboard now called port (q.v.). (Starboard is from Anglo-Saxon steorabord, the steer-board, or right
side of a ship.) Larboard is the French bâbord, the left-hand side of a ship looking towards the prow;
Anglo-Saxon boec-bord
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#75811
07/11/2002 5:16 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 131
member
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member
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 131 |
strong beer made
(in March) for keeping.
Why would you keep beer? I merely rent mine.
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#75812
07/11/2002 5:48 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Ah, chemeng, you really know the answer.. (oops, maybe not, its as much biology as chemistry.)
there are two basic yeast used to make beer, one like colder tempertures, one warmer.. German beer uses the cold yeast, and beer can not be brewed till it get cold enough (late september..and 4 to 6 weeks later, the first new beer is available, and you have an OctoberFest... in late spring, (say March) beer is made for keeping.. (higher alcohol content) since it starts getting too warm to brew..
that "strong beer" has to last till October.. (only it never does, and there is a dry spell in early fall..)
with modern refridgeration, beer can be brewed year round..
do we have any home brewers on the board? its small hobby here, but my understanding is it is more popular in UK. they might know the names of the different yeasts.
(in US, each household can brew up to 50 gallons of wine or beer for home use with no taxes added. over 50 gallons is considered commercial production and is taxed-- but it is always illegal to distill.. )
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#75813
07/11/2002 5:50 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Dear chemeng1992: Many alcoholic beverages have flavour improve with age, if stored
properly. And with the beer it was desirable to have some surplus stored, possibly because
seasonal temperature changes had undesirable effects. My ignorance of beer making is
total. I wonder how well things like hops could have been stored in the old days.
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#75814
07/11/2002 6:02 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lars The overking of the ancient Etruscans, like the Welsh “pendragon.” A satrap, or under-king, was a lucumo. Thus the
king of Prussia is the German lars, and the king of Bavaria is a lucumo.
There be thirty chosen prophets,
The wisest of the land,
Who always by Lars Porsena
, Both morn and evening stand.”
Macaulay: Lays of Ancient Rome,
(Horatius, ix.)
So the "Lars" in Lars Porsena is his title, not his first name.
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#75815
07/11/2002 6:55 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Larvae Mischievous spectres. The larva or ghost of Caligula was often seen (according to Suetonius) in his palace.
I never heard this word used this way before. Since it must be older than our use of the word to mean
very immature form of an organism, that use seems poorly chosen.
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#75816
07/11/2002 7:05 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lateran The ancient palace of the Laterani, given by the Emperor Constantine to the popes. Lateran,
from lateo, to hide, and rana, a frog. It is said that Nero ... on one occasion vomited a frog covered with
blood, which he believed to be his own progeny, and had it hidden in a vault. The palace which was built
on the site of this vault was called the “Lateran,” or the palace of the hidden frog. (Buckle: History of
Civilisation.)
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#75817
07/11/2002 7:18 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lavender From the Spanish lavandera (a laundress), the plant used by laundresses for scenting linen.
The botanical name is Lavandula, from the Latin lavo, to wash. It is a token of affection.
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#75818
07/11/2002 7:19 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 131
member
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member
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 131 |
There are several guys that I work with that brew their own - I've tried a little but can't say that I prefer it. I guess one grows accustomed to the 'commercial' stuff. That home brewed kind is stout and mean to the head!
We also have a nifty little microbrewery in downtown Montgomery - interestingly it's the only place in central Alabama where you can get beer 'on tap'. Apparently the Bible Belt thinks beer from the tap is worse fer ya. Anyhoo - their beer seems to be a happy medium between the usual Miller or Busch product and the home swill. Much more interesting taste with only a little more on the headache scale.
Anyone have any knowledge on why draft beer would be outlawed and bottled allowed??
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#75819
07/11/2002 7:23 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lawn Fine, thin cambric bleached on a lawn, instead of the ordinary bleaching grounds. It is used for the
sleeves of bishops, and sometimes for ladies' handkerchiefs.
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#75820
07/11/2002 8:05 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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When it comes to yeast, you need to go to Kentucky for the correct answers. Jackie may not know this, but most horse breeders do.
There are in Kentucky a variety of hummingbirds that builds their nests of hair from the manes of horses. So they sometimes actually build their nests in the horses' manes. Anyway, the Kentucky breeders have discovered that the cheeping sound made by the chicks has a detrimental effect on their breeding program. Basically, the particular frequencies increase miscarriages.
Someone though, discovered that a yeat paste discouraged the birds from their building the nests on the horses' necks. Yep, yeast is yeast and nest is nest, but never the manes shall tweet.
TEd
TEd
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#75821
07/11/2002 8:54 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Left in the Lurch Left to face a great perplexity. In cribbage a lurch is when a player has scored only
thirty holes, while his opponent has made sixty-one, and thus won a double.
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#75822
07/11/2002 9:06 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Legend means simply “something to be read” as part of the divine service. The narratives of the lives of
saints and martyrs were so termed from their being read, especially at matins, and after dinner in the
refectories. Exaggeration and a love for the wonderful so predominated in these readings, that the word
came to signify the untrue, or rather, an event based on tradition.
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#75823
07/11/2002 9:18 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Lemures (3 syl.). The spirits of the dead. Good lemures were called Lares, but bad ones Larvae, spectres
who wandered about at night-time to terrify the living. (Ovid. Fasti, v.)
I wonder if this is where the name for a very small primate comes.
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#75824
07/11/2002 9:19 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Lens (Latin, a lentil or bean). Glasses used in mathematical instruments are so called because the double
convex one, which may be termed the perfect lens, is of a bean shape.
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#75825
07/11/2002 9:21 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Lent (Anglo-Saxon, lencten). Lenctentid (spring-tide) was the Saxon name for March, because in this
month there is a manifest lengthening of the days. As the chief part of the great fast falls in March, this
period of fast received the name of the Lencten-fæsten, or Lent. It is from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
The Fast of thirty-six days was introduced in the fourth century. Felix III. added four more days in
487, to make it correspond with our Lord's fast in the wilderness.
Galeazzo's Lent. A form of torture devised by Galeazzo Visconti, calculated to prolong the unfortunate
victim's life for forty days.
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#75826
07/11/2002 9:36 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Leth'e (2 syl.), in Greek mythology, is one of the rivers of Hades, which the souls of all the dead are
obliged to taste, that they may forget everything said and done in the earth on which they lived. (Greek
letho, latheo, lanthano, to cause persons not to know.)
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#75827
07/11/2002 9:42 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Letters Patent So denominated because they are written upon open sheets of parchment, with the seal of
the sovereign or party by whom they were issued pendent at the bottom. Close letters are folded up and
sealed on the outside. (Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy.)
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#75828
07/12/2002 2:05 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Larvae Mischievous spectres. The larva or ghost of Caligula was often seen (according to Suetonius) in his palace.
I never heard this word used this way before. Since it must be older than our use of the word to mean
very immature form of an organism, that use seems poorly chosen.
Dr. Bill, in one of my Mary Stewart books, a little girl is being shown things in nature by her cousin, a "wise woman". They see a larva pupate, and the little girl mishears "a nymph", and says it is "an imp". It took me a while to remember that much detail; at first I was thinking that I'd read that larvae really were called imps. So I tried looking it up, and look what I found:
[Old English impa "young shoot, scion" and impian "to graft," both ultimately from Greek emphuein , literally "to emplant," from phuein "to grow, plant"] There really does seem to be a connection!
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#75829
07/12/2002 9:26 AM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
veteran
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veteran
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Posts: 1,346 |
do we have any home brewers on the board?Have done, Helen, and know many people who make their own wine and beer. Generally speaking it's pretty good stuff, not to mention stronger and cheaper than most of the commercial products. As you say, it's quite popular in the UK. Fairly high tax on booze probably accounts for that, although we've a long and proud tradition of DIY wherever possible - and also of heroically failing at DIY..  To be honest I'm unaware of the distinction between hot-weather and cold-weather yeasts. I know that brewers have their favourite strains of yeast, which they've kept going for - literally - centuries, and I know it's a good idea to get yeast from your favourite brewery, as it's such a fundamental ingredient. Well, yeast is the essence of the whole process, really. Over here, "lager" has always meant continental (European) style beer, which first arrived here in the 70s. It's more pale than English beer (hereafter called "ale" and assumed to be cask-conditioned stuff rather than the 'orrible "keg beers" that used to be prevalent), amber coloured at the darkest. It's also always been mechanically chilled, whereas ale is cellar temperature, coolish but definitely not chilled. Lagers always have gas (nitrogen I think) added as they're piped up from the cellar, and thus a definite "head"; ale has a natural gental froth produced by the yeast. You may just detect some bias here.   I think real ale is the best drink on the planet. I also happen to think that Harvey's, my locally brewed ale, is the best real ale ever - but all real ale afficiandos (sp?) love the local stuff best, as it's a living product and doesn't always travel well. Actually there are some continental beers that are a cut above the rest, with no nasty chemical additives etc. The German "purity law" lagers such as Beck's, and (especially) the Czech Budwar (original Budweiser) spring to mind. You can drink loads of them without getting a hangover, which ain't bad really! You should always drink these bottled, never the draught versions. DrinkonaBikeHmmm. It used to be that all threads eventually turned into food threads; but recently (for some strange reason) they've started turning into drink threads. Curious. [innocence]
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#75830
07/12/2002 9:41 AM
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
addict
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addict
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679 |
Hmmm. It used to be that all threads eventually turned into food threads; but recently (for some strange reason)
they've started turning into drink threads. Curious.Ah'llll that to dhrink!
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#75831
07/12/2002 3:21 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Leucothea [White Goddess]. So Ino was called after she became a seanymph. Her son Palæmon, called
by the Romans Portunus, or Portumnus, was the protecting genius of harbours.
No to be confused with leucorrhea, often a harbinger of gono rrhea.
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#75832
07/12/2002 3:29 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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The Queen's Levée. It was customary for the queens of France to receive at the hour of their levé - i.e.
while making their toilet- the visits of certain noblemen. This custom was afterwards demanded as a right
by the court physicians, messengers from the king, the queen's secretary, and some few other gentlemen,
so that ten or more persons were often in the dressing-room while the queen was making her toilet and
sipping her coffee. The word is now used to express that concourse of gentlemen who wait on the queen
on mornings appointed. No ladies except those attached to the court are present on these occasions.
Kings and some nobles have their levées sometimes of an evening.
Not to be confused with levee meaning an embankment to prevent river flooding.
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#75833
07/12/2002 3:33 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
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Level Best To do one's level best. To exert oneself to the utmost.
Firmly entrenched but seems to me poorly chosen.
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#75834
07/12/2002 3:35 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Lewd (Anglo-Saxon, leóde) simply means folk in general, verb leod-an. The present meaning refers to
the celibacy of the clergy.
How the meaning has changed.
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#75835
07/12/2002 3:39 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Lewkner's Lane Now called “Charles Street,” Drury Lane, London, always noted for ladies of the
pavement.
Not the protégées of the the Muffin Man of Drury Lane, Oh.
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