Wordie: Yacht: Comments

Comment by reesetee, 11 months ago

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:13:13 +0000

Really? I think it looks snazzy.

Comment by chained_bear, 11 months ago

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:45:25 +0000

I really like this word, and like the pronunciation and everything. But it looks like it feels, and kinda sounds, to throw up.

I don't know why.

Comment by reesetee, 11 months ago

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:15 +0000

See cavalry (oddly enough) for some entertaining alternate spellings of this word.

Comment by reesetee, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:16:44 +0000

WOW! Nice riposte and exquisite avoidance of the question! I doff my hat to you, sir.

Well, I'm not wearing one, but if I were, I'd be doffing, by God.

Comment by uselessness, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:14:20 +0000

What's the point? When not even death can stop true love, why bother? ;-)

Comment by chained_bear, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:55:45 +0000

...but what about pirates???

Comment by uselessness, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:32:27 +0000

What, every word of that was true! ;-)

Comment by reesetee, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:00:26 +0000

You see? The man's an artist.

Comment by skipvia, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 02:36:42 +0000

I am without words, U.

Comment by uselessness, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 02:06:51 +0000

Actually, the word chasing refers to the pursuit of pleasure. Similar to the modern-day pleasure cruise, which is much slower than one might expect from "cruising." Of course the root of such phrases stems from Solomon's book of wisdom, Ecclesiastes, in which he declares that "everything is vanity, a chasing after the wind," inexorably tying the pleasures of the world to the breeze, and by extension, sailboats.

Comment by reesetee, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 01:23:11 +0000

Are you taking uselessness' madeupical etymology course, chained_bear? ;-)

Comment by chained_bear, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:54:13 +0000

Well, if you're a pirate, you'd naturally want a fast ship. And if you're a king, you'd also want the fastest ship you could get.

Let me pause here for a refreshing break.

"Every ship but your four fastest, you mean."

"Yes, naturally not those four."

Thank you. This break brought to you by the word page dulcet.

And the best way to show off a fast ship, if you're a pirate, is to hunt/catch a whole lotta others. But once the golden age of piracy is over, what's left to do? If you still like fast ships, I guess you need to start having yacht races.

Comment by reesetee, 11 months ago

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:48:34 +0000

Possibly! The etymology mentions it in reference to "light sailing vessels" used especially for royalty, "fast piratical ships," and those used for hunting. Apparently the meaning shifted at some point to refer to racing craft as well.

Comment by chained_bear, 11 months ago

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:11:46 +0000

That is cool. I wonder if by "chasing" they could also have meant "racing."

Comment by reesetee, 11 months ago

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:54:21 +0000

It is, isn't it, SoG? I was curious so I checked the etymology. It comes from the Dutch jaght or jacht, as in jaghtschip, which literally meant "ship for chasing." Presumably not a pleasure craft as we think of it nowadays. :-)

Comment by SonofGroucho, 11 months ago

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:25:10 +0000

What a strange little word this is!