Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 3 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
#98401 03/15/03 01:49 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
What do these mean in the above posts?


#98402 03/15/03 01:54 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Now wait a cotton-pickin' minute! et'! Did you take a gander at that black-headed gull? Good grief. It's enough that they call the Mexican gray wolf, which is not a gray wolf, a gray wolf. But to call that not-black-headed gull a black-headed gull is preposterous! It has one little bitty dot of black on its mostly white and gray head! These people who name animals are cryptologists, every single last one of 'em! Or they're color blind!


#98403 03/15/03 01:57 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
What a lot of meanings there are to the word mantle:
mantle
n.
5ME mantel < OE mentel & OFr mantel, both < L mantellum, mantelum, a cloth, napkin, cloak, mantle < ? Celt6
1 a loose, sleeveless cloak or cape: sometimes used figuratively, in allusion to royal robes of state, as a symbol of authority or responsibility
2 anything that cloaks, envelops, covers, or conceals !hidden under the mantle of night"
3 a small meshwork hood made of a noncombustible substance, such as a thorium or cerium compound, which when placed over a flame, as in a lantern, gives off a brilliant incandescent light
4 the outer wall and casing of a blast furnace, above the hearth
5 MANTEL
6 Anat. old term for the cortex of the cerebrum
7 Geol. a) the layer of the earth‘s interior between the crust and the core b) MANTLEROCK
8 Zool. a) a major part of a mollusk or similar organism consisting of a sheet of epithelial tissue with muscular, neural, and glandular elements: it covers the viscera and foot under the shell of univalve or bivalve mollusks, secretes the shell, and forms the body of cephalopods b) the soft outer body wall of a tunicate or barnacle c) the plumage on the back and folded wings of certain birds when it is all the same color
vt.
3tled, 3tling to cover with or as with a mantle; envelop; cloak; conceal
vi.
1 to be or become covered, as a surface with scum or froth
2 to spread like a mantle, as a blush over the face
3 to blush or flush
4 Falconry to spread first one wing, then the other, over the outstretched legs: said of a perched hawk

And how few meanings to "dismantle"
dismantle
vt.
3tled, 3tling 5OFr desmanteller, to take off one‘s cloak: see DIS3 & MANTLE6
1 to strip of covering
2 to strip (a house, ship, etc.) of furniture, equipment, means of defense, etc.
3 to take apart; disassemble
—SYN STRIP1
dis[man4tle[ment
n.
dis[man4tler
n.



#98404 03/15/03 02:10 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Isn't there the phrase "a dismantling expression"?


#98405 03/15/03 01:06 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
In reply to:

4 the outer wall and casing of a blast furnace, above the hearth


Do you have mantlepieces in the Americas? And do you use them to display ornaments?

Bingley



Bingley
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
sure. and many a fireplace never sees the light of a real fire anymore and has itself become ornamental.


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
A hundred years ago, the mantle over the fireplace displayed
various memoralilia, with unlit candlesticks and matches on each end. Abive tghe ceter a picture or portrait. Sometimes
a sampler stitched by a cherished daughter.
It's been a long time since I have seen a sampler. And now
the refrigerator door has become the display place.


Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Oh, wwh, how funny and true! What a clever observation about the movement from mantle to refrigerator door!

There is a wonderful fireplace mantle at the Dooley House at Maymont here in Richmond. There's a quite a mystery about it. Various scholars and curators have examined it, but cannot unravel what the separate frames of carved wood figures refer to. They suspect folks tales may be the source of the carvings, but they cannot pinpoint the specific tales. I hope I live long enough to see the mystery of the Dooley House mantle solved.

Edit: Why is it mantle for fireplace shelf can be spelled both ways: mantle or mantel? Is there some preference of one over the other?

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Why is nicke; also at times spelled nickle?



#98410 03/16/03 12:36 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
I do believe Us Prescriptivists would say that mantel is the only accurate spelling of the shelf above the fireplace, and nickel is the only way to spell the metal.

This of course does not prevent Many People from misspelling the words regularly, under the mistaken impression that they are correct.


Page 3 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 302 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5