As Mad as a Hatter

The process by which felt hats were made involved treating the beaver and rabbit fur with nitrate of mercury to make it easier to pound. Since the hatmakers couldn't help but inhale the mercury, they suffered from mercury poisoning, which caused neurological damage resulting in slurred speech, a lurching gait, and uncontrolled muscle twitching. These were taken as signs of insanity, and the phrase mad as a hatter came into being.

Makes you think twice about beaver, huh?

I stole this, BTW.

Okay, no web.

1. Luminescent watch, eh? Radio-active. Fingers in the mouth, maybe food transference?

2. Ladder? Duh, people on ladders drop stuff on yer head. Ouch.

3. Bless you? I remember something about the spirit leaving the body when you sneeze. People say "Bless you" because you are temporarily without a spirit. 12 years in a Catholic school.  

The radium used for painting the watch hands and numerals was being breathed in by the workers which caused cancer.  

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The ladder, angled to the wall with the ground below forms a triangle, a symbolic association with the "holy trinity". Walking through the traingle violates the trinity.

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 Sneezing opens a passage from demons (evil) to enter. The "bless you" stops the demon in his/her steps. Eh.

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 Thank you for the entertainment and brainercise. I will respond in kind soon. Red Wings vs Calgary Flames (game 1) starts soon. Must make sure my friend Sam Adams is suitably cold for face-off.  Tomorrow my Canuckian mentor.

danbo wrote: Okay Petey, without looking at your Word Reference book. Why do we use the term "COP" when refering to a Police Officer? Probably an easy one, but we'll keep going 'til I, or Garten, stump you.

I'll get back to you, and I won't cheat.

For the record, the obscure words come out of my head (and my Victorian reading) -- the dictionary is to confirm intended meaning, and spelling.

PS: You know, Danbo, I'm such a decided non-jock that I don't even know who won your precious hockey game. Was it good for your team? Did your cadre of spoiled, genetic-freak millionaires put the little rubber disc in the net more times than the other gang of thuggish, knuckle-dragging ultra-rich guys, "representing" cities and countries they weren't even born in? Hmmmmm?

danbo wrote: Okay Petey, without looking at your Word Reference book. Why do we use the term "COP" when refering to a Police Officer? Probably an easy one, but we'll keep going 'til I, or Garten, stump you.

Well, you did stump me, you Machiavelian baldie! I actually took the trouble to ask a retired cop acquaintance of mine -- he had no real idea.

I considered copper badges or shields in the past, or the guarding of copper shipments -- unlikely!

The second young cop, asked at a gas station, offered "Constable On Patrol," but I was not convinced, certain that the word must be older than that modern-sounding acronym (like the P.I.G. = Pride, Integrity & Guts business....)

Finally, I thought of the old expression "cop a feel," as in "sneak," or "take," thought I was on the right track, then DID, I confess, look it up on the Wonderful Worldwide Web!  (Dictionary only told me it was "slang for police officer.")

(Hey, when I cheat, I tell you.)

Cop: "To take, or grab. (possibly of Germanic roots) Thus "copper" = "thief (& assorted bad guy) taker, or grabber."

Sorry to shoot dirty pool, old boy, but I did try for days! You won that one, but as a lover of words, I JUST HAD TO KNOW! It was driving me bonkers!Aaaaaarrrrggghhhh!

Now, answer me this (no web till you've given up): Why are there useless buttons on the cuffs of your sport-jacket, and buttons on cuffs in general

PS: How is that ol' Brewer and Patriot Samuel anyway?  He was rather cold last time I had the pleasure of his company....

Jim Garten wrote: Whilst we are on the subject of word origins, I was told a while ago (but cannot couch for the authenticity of the story) that a particularly naughty word in the English language comes from a form of licence for brothels - to..... as it were...... Fornicate Under Consent of the King. If this isn't true, then it should be!

That was actually on a test for a college class.

Don't forget Van Halen's 

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.  

Peter Rideout wrote: Cop: "To take, or grab. (possibly of Germanic roots) Thus "copper" = "thief (& assorted bad guy) taker, or grabber." PS: How is that ol' Brewer and Patriot Samuel anyway?  He was rather cold last time I had the pleasure of his company....

Righto, Petey.

The six members of the Adams family sit in the ice box as we speak, awaiting my loving caress.

Buttons, hhmm... if not merely an aesthetic appointment, I would have to guess that gloves were attached by a thin strap so as not to fall to the ground if a gentleman had to remove them whilst helping a poor damsel cross a puddle?   

danbo wrote: Peter Rideout wrote: Cop: "To take, or grab. (possibly of Germanic roots) Thus "copper" = "thief (& assorted bad guy) taker, or grabber." PS: How is that ol' Brewer and Patriot Samuel anyway?  He was rather cold last time I had the pleasure of his company.... Righto, Petey. Buttons, hhmm... if not merely an aesthetic appointment, I would have to guess that gloves were attached by a thin strap so as not to fall to the ground if a gentleman had to remove them whilst helping a poor damsel cross a puddle?

Nay, you chivalrous bald-pate, nay! 'Tis not the case!

danbo wrote: I thought the F**K word had something to do with farming, specifically "planting a seed."  Maybe the reason Ian Anderson chose Jethro Tull, inventor of the seed drill, for the band name?

Dare thee question the all-knowing Dictionary of W.O., thou base knave? Forsooth, I'll have thy hairless head spitted on a pike, and mounted o'er the ramparts of my mighty island fortress, varlet! Have at thee!

There you go -- your first Archive-related death threat. Now you're in my select league....