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Joined: Nov 2005
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Nov 2005
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I was glad to see the word 'bight' turn up as a Word-a-Day subject. Another meaning, common among fans of knot-tying, is a loop making up an element of a knot.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
It has been a long time since my naval training but I clearly recall using the term bight to refer to a loop made in the middle of a line. It could be another one of those ancient nautical words, eh?
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Middle English, bend, angle, from Old English byht.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
"The Bowline on a Bight is used to make a pair of fixed-size loops in a line. This knot can be used to make an emergency bowswain's chair to go up the mast or bring an injured person aboard, or serve as a towing bridle. The benefits of the bowline are in its loop that will not slip, and in its ability to be untied after being exposed to a strain." More than you ever wanted to know about knots
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
great site, Padre, thanks. wish they would pause just a bit at the end of the animations, though.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
Speaking of nautical terms, how did "sheets" come to mean "ropes"?
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
Quote:
Speaking of nautical terms, how did "sheets" come to mean "ropes"?
sheet rates two headwords in OED2, for which the second goes something like this:
[OE. scéata wk. masc., having the meanings of OE. scéat (see SHEET n.1), also = lower corner of a sail, ‘pes veli’; in comb. scéatlíne ‘propes’ (see Wr.-Wülcker 183/26 and 288/24) = MLG. schôtlîne, in which sense the simple word is recorded from the 14th c. For the cognate forms and their meanings see SHEET n.1; cf. SHOOT n.2]
anticipating a bit: three sheets in the wind: very drunk. a sheet in the wind (or wind's eye) is used occas. = half drunk.
comment: if you're numerically inclined you're prolly thinking, shouldn't half-drunk be a sheet and a half?
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1 |
Hey, Y'all, Was delighted to see bight as AWAD!! I've only heard one person use this word... an aging Irishman who was trying to perfect my seat on a horse at a riding stable in Massachusetts. "If you're right-handed, the bight from both reins should fall on the horse's right shoulder." When seeing my confusion he raised his voice and spoke slowly as one might speak to a naughty child, "The BIGHT, Lass, the BIGHT!!" He explained that he was referring to the extra rein leathers that come out of the top of your hand, (as opposed to the reins entering the bottom of the hand come directly from the bits in the horse's mouth.) I must have had a good 5 foot loop of snaffle rein and even more of the curb as I recall being overwhelmed by flapping leathers getting caught on my feet or wedged under my knees. Nowadays I ride with a single rein much more in proportion to the horse with a scant 3 foot loop of bight. Thanks for prompting my trip down memory lane.
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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>shouldn't half-drunk be a sheet and a half? well sure.. "A thought tipsy--a sheet or so in the wind, as folks say." - Anthony Trollope, Orley Farm for more on sails vs. ropes as sheets
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
Welcome aBoard Casacontento. De nada for the memories!
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