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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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This is a holiday week end in US, (Memorial day-- set up originally to commemorate the civil war dead, it is now a day to honor all who died in service to country)
The holiday is American as Apple pie.
Apple Pie is a bit of a yart, it comes from Apple Pie order, which is neat, orderly, and generally a good thing.. It is generally thought to be a hobson-jobsom of nappe pliee--folded sheets.. (it is an old yart!)
but let's not stop there.. the pliee of the phrase is from a root word for in Latin plicare, fold that shows up in english as complient (to bend ones will), pleat, folded fabric, complicate ! the twisted sense also leads to ply, (fold, twist, layer) as in two ply paper towels, Plywood, pliable! by another twist, ply means "travel a regualar route" or "solicit" (as in ply for hire).
here are other connected words.. maybe you can think of more..
apply, employ, perplex, supplicate, explicit, plight, reply, simple, supple....
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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There are two words "plight". The second one is a bit archaic. " To plight one's troth." From a Germanic root. But "plait" as to braid hair seems to be related.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
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Apple pie: Apple pie bed; this is a practical joke type bed in which the bottom sheet is folded back upon itself, thereby making it impossible for the occupant to stretch out his or her legs. The phrase is an Anglicised version of the French "nappé pliè" - a folded sheet.
Apple pie order; probably from the same origin as "apple pie bed" i.e. a folded sheet in French. Such sheets
are neat and tidy.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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We called this apple-pie bed "short-sheeting" a bed when I was a camper at Camp Pocohontas.
An aside: Our bunks were three in a row, and two across from each other lengthwise. We were in the habit of swinging into the cabin across the metal ends of the bunks, using the two ends facing each other as balance points. A great prank was to put toothpaste across the metal ends so when a fellow camper came swinging in,--oops! Big slide; kerplunk!
My daughter just told me some college dorm pranks that I will not repeat here--gross!!! Frozen urine? Good grief!
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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sheet (cloth) and sheet(rope attached to a sail) are first cousins.. they both trace there way back to germanic base *skuat, *skut "project" -- which also gives us scot-free!
*skut gave us two old english words, scete-- which became sheet of cloth.. and sceata which sail-rope
other words derived from the root include scuttle, shoot, shot, shout, shut, and skit! I wonder if a racing scull is related too? or a scupper?
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear of troy: I searched for "etymology scull" and found a site with a fairly long list of words of Norwegian and Scaninavian origin, well worth browsing. And yes, "scull" is one of them: http://viking.no/e/england/e-viking_words_2.htm
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