Master Index of Archived Threads


Archaic Terms I've Come Upon

Edgy DC Sep 07 2006 03:34 PM

tumbril tum•brel [tuhm-bruhl] =green]–noun one of the carts used during the French Revolution to convey victims to the guillotine. a farmer's cart, esp. one for hauling manure, that can be tilted to discharge its load. Obsolete. a two-wheeled covered cart accompanying artillery for carrying tools, ammunition, etc. Also, tumbril. [Origin: 1275–1325; ME tumberell ducking stool < ML tumberellus < OF tumberel dump-cart, equiv. to tombe(r) to fall (see =blue]tumble) + ]-rel =blue]-rel) I'm republishing an article from 1978 that uses this word, in the alternative spelling, but Microsoft doesn't recognize it.

Frayed Knot Sep 07 2006 03:38 PM

I bet the SCRABBLE nerds recognize it, with both alternative spellings plus several others on top of those.

Edgy DC Sep 07 2006 03:42 PM

Keep it up, Crossword Charlie. We all read it the same way. "Scrabble nerds" = "people that can beat me."

cooby Sep 07 2006 03:43 PM

Isn't that ESPN's hometown?

Edgy DC Sep 21 2006 11:51 PM

gonfalon

Johnny Dickshot Sep 22 2006 12:38 AM

I came across that word recently too. I think its Italian for pennant, or something.

RealityChuck Sep 22 2006 09:54 AM

Any real baseball fan should recognize "gonfalon" (from memory): These are the saddest of possible words Tinker to Evers to Chance Trio of bear cubs fleeter than birds Tinker to Evers to Chance Ruthlessly piercing our gonfalon bubble Making our giants hit into a double Names that are laden with nothing but trouble Tinker to Evers to Chance.

Edgy DC Sep 22 2006 10:10 AM

RealityChuck wrote: Any real baseball fan should recognize "gonfalon" (from memory): These are the saddest of possible words Tinker to Evers to Chance Trio of bear cubs fleeter than birds Tinker to Evers to Chance Ruthlessly piercing our gonfalon bubble Making our giants hit into a double Names that are laden with nothing but trouble Tinker to Evers to Chance. Yeah, it's my sig line. The point is that he probably needed a three-syllable synonym for pennant to save the scanning, and pulled "gonfalaon" out of his thesaurus. The word was probably archaic even when he used it, and for almost a century there's been this strange word in an otherwise wonderfully accessible poem. What's cool is that "Ruthlessly" reads like a pun on Babe Ruth, but the poem was published four years before Ruth debuted.

MFS62 Sep 22 2006 10:26 AM

I've always wondered how Harry Steinfeldt felt about that poem. Back to archaic terms. This one may not be as old as some that will appear in this thread, but its one most of us probably haven't thought about since we learned it in history class. It came up in a discussion about whether the people currently being held in Guantanamo and other prisons will be included in new legislation about prisoner rights and treatment. I give you: Ex-Post Facto Laws. Later

metsmarathon Sep 22 2006 11:00 AM

jeez, he shoulda just used "postseason" three syllables, right there.

MFS62 Sep 22 2006 11:15 AM

Actually, for a period of time (early 1900s) when they played together, the Cubs averaged about 100 wins per year in a 154 game schedule. Later

Yancy Street Gang Sep 22 2006 11:25 AM

The word gonfalon may not be all that archaic. I did a Google image search on the word and found a lot of hits.

TheOldMole Sep 22 2006 11:52 AM

So, have the Mets clinched the gonfalon, or do they still have to win the playoffs before the real gonfalon flies over Shea?

Yancy Street Gang Sep 22 2006 12:02 PM

I think the gonfalon represents the league championship.

RealityChuck Sep 22 2006 01:02 PM

metsmarathon wrote: jeez, he shoulda just used "postseason" three syllables, right there. I doubt "postseason" had been coined in 1910. It certainly didn't come into common use until after 1968 -- prior to that, any games after the season were referred to as "World Series." There was no need for any other term, and other sports used "playoffs" to mean the games leading up to a championship game. "World Series" would have worked, though, except that implies that the Cubs beat the Giants in the series, not in the regular season.

Edgy DC Sep 22 2006 02:04 PM

The pennant --- the result of a season-long struggle --- was the greater pursuit, with the World Series being gravy. A team that won the pennant and lost the World Series was still a champion back then.

Yancy Street Gang Sep 22 2006 02:06 PM

I still see it that way. I know George Steinbrenner doesn't.

MFS62 Sep 22 2006 02:09 PM

Edgy DC wrote: The pennant --- the result of a season-long struggle --- was the greater pursuit, with the World Series being gravy. A team that won the pennant and lost the World Series was still a champion back then. I know you're talkiing about back then, but I'd hate to have to present that idea to a Yankee fan if they beat the Mets in this year's (or any) World Series. shudder Later